Air India and its subsidiaries will now have six recognised unions following an election to reduce the number of trade unions in the airline. Prior to the elections there were fourteen recognised trade unions in the airline and two subsidiaries.

The rationale behind the move to recognise fewer unions was that it would lead to better decision making and efficiency.

A section of Air India’s pilots is agitating against their being declassified as workmen and proposed pay cuts. This led to the airline’s flights getting delayed on Friday. While Directorate General of Civil Aviation sources said 10 flights were delayed, the airline claimed only three were impacted. “Out of the 300 flights operated today (Friday), so far only three have been delayed, due to non-reporting of crew on time. All our flights are operating smoothly as per schedule,” Air India officials told Business Standard.

The commanders are protesting against a clarification by the labour ministry on Tuesday, excluding them from the workmen category in the Industrial Disputes Act. They can no longer be part of trade unions, their service conditions can be changed, and they will not be able to raise a dispute against their employers.

Air India's new chief Ashwani Lohani already has a challenge on his hands even before assuming charge.

Pilots of the national carrier have decided to 'go slow', leading to delays in both domestic and international operations.

NEW DELHI: The possibility of a renewed attempt by Pakistan-sponsored terror groups to foment trouble around Independence Day by exploiting the resentment over alleged discrimination of Muslims by the judiciary in the wake of execution of 1993 blasts convict Yakub Memon has led the Centre to issue a detailed advisory to all states and Union territories for heightened surveillance.

Mumbai: The government has declined to immediately allow state-run Air India Ltd to offer US-bound passengers immigration pre-clearance facility in India, a service that rival Etihad Airways PJSC offers from its Abu Dhabi airport hub.

Through pre-clearance, immigration, customs and other related inspections of international air passengers performed on arrival in the US can be completed before departure at a foreign airport.

Air India (AI) will sign an agreement with Citibank and State Bank of India to raise $300 million (Rs 1,900 crore) of external commercial borrowing.

The loan is backed with a sovereign guarantee and will be used for working capital, payment for aircraft spares and bridging the gap caused by delays in equity infusion by the government. The first tranche will be released next week, AI sources said. The loan is repayable over five years and carries annual interest of around 2.5 per cent.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Friday ordered the removal of Air India chief of air safety Captain AS Soman for not maintaining flight monitoring data, sources said.

Soman was appointed Air India's air safety chief in January this year.

Air India will, for the first time, raise $330 million (Rs 2,000 crore) through the external commercial borrowings (ECB) route. The money will spent on aircraft maintenance, said civil aviation ministry officials.

“Once this money is raised, Air India will utilise it on improving fleet maintenance,” said officials. At any point of time, Air India has only 52-54 of its narrow body aircraft in working condition, in an overall fleet strength of 62 aircraft.

Indian airlines will no longer require prior permission to import aircraft as the civil aviation ministry plans to do away with the norm to facilitate ease of doing business.

The move is part of a slew of initiatives taken to improve business conditions in the domestic aviation sector. The ministry also expects to soon unveil the much-awaited aviation policy that would help attract more investments into the sector.

Debt-laden Air India plans to sell properties and land parcels worth nearly Rs 250 crore spread across three cities.

To monetise these assets of Air India, the Civil Aviation Ministry would soon be moving a Cabinet note.

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