Pilots mass leave illegal; HC order restrains strike: Jet

"The Bombay High Court has passed an order restraining any kind of strike," Jet CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer said on phone and added that all possible efforts were being taken to save passengers from inconvenience and restore normalcy.

As many as 156 domestic and 32 international flights were cancelled by 1400 hrs, he said, adding that the airline operates a total of 380 flights a day including 80 overseas.

"We were assured by the National Aviators Guild last night that there would be no strike and we went by this assurance. But, we were shocked by the mass sick leave by about 360 pilots... it is nothing but a simulated strike," he said.

The Jet pilots have been protesting the sacking of two of their colleagues by the management for reportedly joining the guild.

Asked what action the management would take against the striking pilots and if the two sacked pilots could be reinstated, Prock-Shauer said: "The matter is on in the Labour Commission and we would not like to comment."

Air India ready to deploy additional flights
National carrier Air India Tuesday said it had both aircraft and crew on stand-by for immediate deployment should Jet Airways be forced to cancel more flights in the coming days.
“We are in talks with the government and Jet Airways officials,” Air India spokesperson Jitendra Bhargava said.
“In the event of need to operate special flights to help stranded passengers, we would do so for which we have kept on stand-by aircraft and crew,” Bhargava added.
As per government norms, advance permission has to be secured from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for scheduled operations by carriers - be it for additional flights or withdrawals.
According to Bhargava, the carrier had already been accommodating as many stranded passengers as possible in not only on the existing domestic routes but also overseas flights that transit through Indian cities.
Some 20,000 passengers were stranded after the pilots of Jet Airways went on mass sick leave,  to protest the sacking of two senior pilots, forcing the airline to cancel over 150 flights across the country Tuesdayleading to cancellation of nearly 200 flights - both domestic and international.