The retrenched cabin crew members of Jet Airways made a desperate bid on Thursday to get their jobs back, even if it meant taking a pay cut.

Late tonight, Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal announced in Mumbai that “all” employees would be reinstated.

During the day, Citu, the new-found friend of the 22 trainees who learnt about their termination of service on Wednesday and started receiving the sack letters on Thursday, predictably threatened to stop flight operations at the city airport.

A few hundred members of the Citu-backed All India Airport Staff and Workers' Union and around 10 sacked trainees, some accompanied by their friends and family members, brought out a rally at the airport to protest the airline’s decision.

Shouting “Chhatai holo keno/Jet katripokkho jabab dao and Ei chhatai manchhi na manbo na”, the protesters went around the airport premises before assembling in front of the domestic terminal building.

Accompanied by Citu leaders, the trainees met the Jet station manager at the airport and submitted a memorandum. “We told the official that the airline should reinstate us. We are even ready to work for a lesser salary,” said Sanghamitra Majumdar, who had joined Jet on probation eight months ago.

“I never took part in politics when I was a student. But today I came to the Citu office and joined the rally to get my job back,” said Soumen Chakraborty, 22.

Swapan Gupta, the general secretary of the Citu-affiliated airport workers’ union, blamed both Jet Airways and the civil aviation ministry for the crisis. “If they do not solve the problem and take back the boys and girls, we will be forced to stall flight movements at Calcutta airport,” he warned.

A senior Jet official said the demand of the trainees would be conveyed to the airline headquarters in Mumbai. “The sentiments of other Jet employees are with you," a protester quoted a Jet official as saying.

Each trainee had submitted Rs 55,000 as security deposit while joining Jet. “Some of us had spent more than Rs 2 lakh on training before joining the company. While posted in Mumbai, we would get Rs 9,000 a month as stipend but our expenses ranged from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000,” said Sneha Sen who joined Jet in January.

Amidst protests and pleas, some of the retrenched trainees got a letter from the Jet authorities at home. The letter read: “We regret to inform you that your service has been terminated with immediate effect... We are paying you one month’s gross salary as compensation, along with salary till October 15 and also the security deposit.”

The group of 22 has found sympathisers in other airlines, too. “I am feeling bad for them. Who knows who the next victim of the aviation crisis will be,” said a ground staff member of Kingfisher.