The civil aviation ministry has informed pilots’ group Alpa India that airline employee concerns do not fall under the government’s purview, after the organisation objected to a working paper submitted by the Centre to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) proposing to regulate the hiring of Indian aviators by foreign airlines.
The ministry’s reply came after Alpa India raised concerns on a centralised public grievance redress portal.
“HR (human resources) and related matters of private airlines are beyond the purview of DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation)/Ministry of Civil Aviation,” read the government’s reply.
The ministry had communicated to the ICAO, the United Nation’s aviation agency, that its aviation sector was being impacted by the “poaching” of Indian pilots and cabin crew without adequate notice. In its working paper, it had suggested a global “code of conduct” mandating a six-month notice period and a no-objection certificate (NOC) for pilots seeking to resign.
Indian government rules mandate a minimum six-month notice period for pilots and a no-objection certificate from an airline for them to join a rival.
Alpa India argued that the mandatory clauses were under judicial review, and
the government’s working paper had bypassed the legal proceedings in Delhi High Court.
“While we support the goal of strengthening India’s civil aviation sector, this proposal — if implemented — would infringe constitutional rights, harm India’s reputation as a liberal economy and discourage our skilled workforce,” Alpa India said.
According to sources, the notice period for airline crews varies from country to country. Most airlines have a three-week to one-month mandatory notice period, but
no foreign airline mandates NOCs.
“Bypassing the judiciary by advancing these issues internationally is highly improper,” the pilot association said, underlining how the thousands of crew members lost pay and gratuity after Kingfisher, Jet Airways and Go Airlines shut down.
“Operators exploited these provisions to evade dues, leaving employees jobless for years,” Alpa India said.
They claimed such measures trapped pilots with employers under adverse terms, and underscored how pilot outfits were excluded from the decision-making process.
Alpa India had urged the ministry to withdraw the working paper, consult stakeholders, ensure pay parity, improve working conditions, compensation and work with the finance ministry on tax reliefs and incentives.