No end to the Air India stalemate, more flights affected

May 9, 2012
Airindia

New Delhi, May 9: The crisis at Air India continues on Wednesday with no end to the stalemate between the management and the pilots. However, reports say that Air India's pilots may strike a deal with the government and return to work. This comes after the cash-strapped national career sacked 10 agitating pilots, derecognised their union, the Indian Pilots Guild, and sealed its offices as around 160 pilots failed to join duty.

Air India issued a statement on Tuesday night. It says, "The pilots chose to deliberately damage the image and reputation of the company by disrupting flights by proceeding on mass sick leave. This most extreme and irresponsible agitation aimed at disrupting flight schedules and inflicting inconvenience on our esteemed passengers. As a consequence, Air India has derecognized the Indian Pilots Guild and sealed its offices. It has also terminated the services of and dismissed ten office bearers of the Guild."

The pilots met the Chief Labour Commissioner on Tuesday to find a way out but talks were inconclusive.

The pilots' move had forced the airline to cancel more than five international flights since Monday night. Confusion prevailed at the Delhi Airport on Tuesday with many passengers waiting to fly out. It was the same story in Mumbai.

One flight was delayed and two international flights were cancelled on Wednesday morning.

The latest pilots' strike came right after the ailing airlines has been given a Rs 30,000 crore bailout package. Under fire, the now derecognised Indian Pilots Guild has appealed to the Aviation Minister to intervene. Speaking to IBN18 Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, the Indian Pilots Guild President, Jitendra Awhad, said, "No management is going to say that the strike is legal. They are going to do everything possible to put pressure. They are spreading rumours that the pilots are returning, they are scared, they are reporting fit, nothing of this sort will happen. The more you pinch them, the more they will unite."

"But looking at the passengers and looking at the behaviour of the management, I am folding my hands and requesting Mr Ajit Singh to intervene. A man with a socialist background cannot just undemocratically look at the management's decision of derecognising and victimisation," he added.

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News Network
June 20,2020

New Delhi, Jun 20: The government-imposed upper and lower limits on airfares may be extended beyond August 24 depending upon how the situation turns out, Aviation Secretary P S Kharola said on Saturday.

The government resumed domestic passenger flights from May 25 after nearly two months of suspension to combat the coronavirus outbreak, but placed lower and upper limits on airfares depending upon the flight duration.

It had said on May 21 that these limits would be in place for a period of three months.

"Depending on how the situation turns out, the fare band may have to adjusted beyond that (August 24) also. But right now, it is only for three months," Kharola said at a press conference here.

International passenger flights continue to remain suspended in the country.

However, the government started Vande Bharat Mission on May 6 to help stranded people reach their destinations through special flights.

Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at the conference that during phase 3 and phase 4 of the mission, private domestic airlines have been approved to operate 750 international flights to repatriate people stranded amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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Agencies
July 29,2020

New Delhi, Jul 29: Coronavirus infections in India continue to mount as the country's total case tally crossed the 15-lakh mark.

India added 48,513 fresh cases in 24 hours, taking the total tally to over 15.3 lakh, according to the Health Ministry’s 8 a.m. update on July 29.

Key Figures

Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases: 15,31,669
Active cases: 5,09,447
Cured/discharged/migrated: 9,88,029
Deaths: 34,193
Number of fresh cases in 24 hours: 48,513
One-day recoveries: 35,175
One-day deaths: 768
India’s coronavirus epidemic is growing at the fastest pace in the world, increasing 20% over the last week, according to Bloomberg’s Coronavirus Tracker. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are among the states where the maximum number of daily cares are being reported.

Fresh cases continued to come in at a heightened pace, hovering just below 50,000 for the last six days.

Moderna Inc.’s vaccine candidate against Covid-19 protected against the virus in a trial that inoculated 16 monkeys, an encouraging step on the path to a defense for humans against the pandemic. Pfizer Inc., however, is preparing for the novel coronavirus to endure, leading to long-term demand for a seasonal shot to protect against Covid-19.

“There is a likely scenario that either the vaccine’s immunity will not be lasting forever,” said Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla in an interview Tuesday, “or that the virus will mutate, or that the virus will find ways to come back again and again.”

Even as the transmission rate of Covid-19 remains high in India, the pace of recovery has risen too. On Wednesday, India reported its third day of over 35,000 recoveries.

Global Update

Flare-ups in virus cases from Hong Kong to Europe are proving difficult for policy makers to wrangle. The U.S. neared 150,000 deaths from Covid-19, even as daily infections slowed in some hard-hit states. China reported 101 new cases, up from 68 a day earlier, with 98 of the total from local infections, mostly in Xinjiang.

Philippine health authorities warned that hospitals and infirmaries risk getting overwhelmed.

Globally, confirmed Covid-19 cases have topped 16.6 million with over 658,000 dead.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Bharuch, Mar 5: Vijay Kumar, a resident of the Tamil Nadu has sought help from his friend Abdulkhuda Mohd Hanif Shaikh who is residing in Gujarat to build a temple in his village.

Abdulkhuda Mohd Hanif Shaikh, who also belongs to Tamil Nadu's Paraipatti village and has been residing in Gujarat' Bharuch for a decade has collected Rs 3 lakh from his friends as a donation to build the temple in Paraipatti village in Dindigul district.

"They'd told me 4 months ago and came to me 10 days back. From Vapi to Mehsana, there are several Madrasis, even here in the village too. I personally went to them and collected around Rs 3 Lakh," Shaikh said.

Vijay Kumar said that he stayed in Gujarat for ten days and collected Rs 3 Lakh with him.

"I had sought help from him. I stayed here in Gujarat for 10 days, and went with him from people to people and collected Rs 3 Lakh. No one lives like Hindus or Muslims in our village, everyone lives like friends," he said.

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