On Tuesday, the newly launched Akasa Air informed the Delhi High Court that they are in a state of crisis and might have to shut down, after the sudden resignations of 43 pilots without serving the mandatory notice period. They approached the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the DGCA to take action against pilots.
As a result of the sudden resignation, the airline has been forced to cancel 24 flights per day in September. In response to the situation, Akasa Air stated that they are prepared to handle unforeseen circumstances and have contingency management strategies in place. The airline also reassured that they have a strong financial profile.
According to the reports, the airline counsel informed Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora that Akasa Air had to cancel several flights every day due to the pilots not fulfilling their mandatory notice period of six months (for first officers) or one year (for captains), as per a report in Business Standard. It has been reported that the pilots of Akasa Air have resigned and joined the airline’s competitors.
Akasa Air operates around 120 flights daily but is expected to cancel between 600-700 flights this month alone if the resignations continue. In August, the airline had already cancelled 700 flights. The airline has requested the court to empower the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to enforce the mandatory notice period rules.
The airline is reportedly seeking penal action against the pilots and is seeking approximately Rs 22 crore as compensation for revenue losses attributed to flight cancellations and groundings.
Despite acknowledging the shortage of pilots, Akasa Air released a statement on Wednesday, stating, “We are pleased to note that our disciplined approach has helped us to be well established with a strong financial profile to execute on our ambitious plans. The airline that our team has created has generated cash from its first day of operations as a result of which the initial investment by our investors (including the investment made by Mr. Jhunjhunwala) continues to remain secure in our bank account. As a young airline, we are proud that we are adding to the company reserves even in the first year of our operations.”