NEW DELHI: Akasa Air has accused aviation regulator DGCA of causing it financial and operational hardship by not intervening to stop pilots from abruptly quitting and disrupting operations, according to its legal filing made in the Delhi High Court.
Nearly 43 pilots have recently quit Akasa without serving their notice, leading to the cancellation of 24 flights daily for the airline. The 18-month-old airline contends that its contractual agreements with pilots remain valid and is now suing the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for not intervening in the public interest to mitigate the disruptions, the filing, which was reviewed by Reuters, noted.
In a 265-page legal filing submitted on September 14, Akasa has accused the aviation regulator of being unwilling to take any action, resulting in significant financial and operational hardship and a detrimental reputational loss.
Under the current rules, pilots in India are required to provide notice periods of 6-12 months. This notice period has faced legal challenges from pilot organisations. Pilots, who have left Akasa and joined a rival airline, said Akasa management violated contracts by altering the salary structure. Akasa has initiated legal action against the pilots who left without serving their contractual notice period. It has approached the Delhi High Court for about Rs 22 crore as compensation from the pilots for loss of revenue on account of the grounding and cancellation of flights.
On the allegations of Akasa, DGCA is likely to present its response during an upcoming court hearing scheduled for Friday. Before initiating legal action, Akasa had reached out to aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and had highlighted that foreign airlines might engage in similar poaching practices of pilots if not intervened.
