Air India withdraws job offers for 180 trainees amid slowdown due to Coronavirus pandemic

Amid the Coronavirus outbreak, Air India has withdrawn job offers for around 180 trainee cabin crew members as the sector suffers due to economic slowdown, said airline officials on Saturday. In a letter sent to one such trainee cabin crew member on July 6, the airline said, "In view of the current aviation scenario, it would not be possible for Air India to impart any further training to you for engaging your services."

The letter also said, "In view of the above reasons, which are beyond the control of the company, it has been decided to discontinue your training arrangement and dispense with the offer of engagement with immediate effect." It further said the bank guarantees furnished by the individual trainees at the time of joining were being returned. "The airline has taken a decision to withdraw job offers for about 180 trainees who were to join as cabin crew after completing their training as the aviation sector has been hit hard due to the coronavirus pandemic," said an airline official.

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When asked about the issue, news agency PTI quoted an Air India spokesperson saying that these are internal issues on which the airline would not like to comment.

India resumed domestic passenger flights from May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. However, the airlines have been allowed to operate only a maximum of 45 percent of their pre-COVID domestic flights. The occupancy rate in Indian domestic flights has been around 50-60 percent since May 25. Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23.

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Appeal for payment of dues

Indian Commercial Pilot's Association has appealed to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to disburse their long-pending dues immediately. The development came after a meeting held on July 8 that was attended by Indian Pilot's Guild, officials of MoCA and Chairman & Managing Director (CMD). The pilots' body had made it clear that they would support the airline during the testing times of the pandemic provided that every employee of the flagship carrier shares the burden and agrees for a deduction in the individual income.

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India's COVID-19 tally zoomed past the eight-lakh mark on Saturday. The health ministry data said that the total coronavirus caseload in the country surged to 820,916 on Saturday while the death toll climbed to 22,123. According to Union health ministry data on Saturday, the number of recoveries stands at 515,385 while there are 283,407 active cases. 

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(with PTI inputs)