DGCA refuses to intervene in Akasa Air case: Said- it does not have the power, airline in crisis due to resignation of 43 pilots

Akasa has moved the High Court after the pilots left the airline without giving notice. Akasa had said in a legal filing that due to DGCA's lack of intervention, the airline is facing difficulties in continuing operations with financial losses. At Akasa Air, the notice period for First Officers is 6 months and for Captains is 1 year.

According to the airline, due to the resignation of pilots they had to cancel 18% i.e. more than 630 flights in August. Akasa operates 120 flights a day. That means it operates 3,500 flights a month.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Pilots said that Akasa Air's number of flight cancellations is baseless. DGCA cannot interfere in this dispute. It also said that mass resignations are a sign of employee dissatisfaction.

The airline is demanding punitive action against pilots who have left without completing their contractual notice period. Along with this, it is demanding about Rs 22 crore as compensation for the loss of revenue due to cancellation of flights.

On the other hand, Akasa has been given the green signal for international flights, but it is awaiting approvals from the countries in which it wants to operate flights. Currently, the airline operates only on domestic routes.

International routes are often considered more profitable due to less competition. Earlier, if any airline in India wanted to start international flights, it was mandatory for it to have 20 aircraft in its fleet and 5 years of experience.

However, in the year 2016, India's civil aviation policy was changed and the rule of 5 years of experience was removed. This opened the gates for new airlines to enter the international market. Akasa Air was launched on 7 August 2022.