Air India’s crew goes on ‘mass leave’, while IndiGo’s holds walk-in interviews; Report

In pre-independence India, the word ‘indigo’ was possibly a source of resentment, if not open mutiny, against the East India Company. A simple Google search would disclose this. Though it may seem strange to connect the two, what happened on July 2, 2022, is a clear hearken back. This was hardly a rebellion; everyone would have wanted to be politically correct. However, the ultimate result was that several businesses found it difficult to carry out their everyday operations. IndiGo, India’s largest airline, struggled to maintain its flights on schedule. Around 55% of the company’s flights were delayed.

Reason?
A big proportion of its cabin personnel phoned in sick. And Air India’s enormous recruiting seemed too clear for the sudden illness to be coincidental. Sources in India’s aviation business have been mentioned in media reports as claiming that there was a good likelihood IndiGo staff took a leave to assure bigger salaries during the Air India recruiting drive. On Saturday, July 2, the second phase of Air India’s recruiting campaign was held.

IndiGo, India’s largest airline, presently operates over 1,600 domestic and international flights every day. The Press Trust of India reported that IndiGo and Air India did not reply to demands for remarks. On Saturday, 45.2% of IndiGo’s domestic flights arrived on time, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s website.

On Saturday, Air India, SpiceJet, Vistara, Go First, and AirAsia India was on time at 77.1 percent, 80.4 percent, 86.3 percent, 88 percent, and 92.3 percent, respectively. IndiGo CEO Ronjoy Dutta informed staff in an email on April 8 that boosting compensation is a tough and contentious topic, but that the airline will regularly examine and modify wages depending on profitability and the competitive climate.

IndiGo dismissed a few pilots on April 4 who were preparing a walkout the next day to protest wage cutbacks made during the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Tata Group seized control of Air India on January 27, after successfully bidding for the airline on October 8, last year. Air India intends to purchase new planes and improve its services, and it has lately begun a recruiting drive for additional cabin crew members.