59 employees of Air India group have availed leave without pay scheme: Puri

New Delhi: A total of 59 employees of Air India group have availed the leave without pay (LWP) scheme that was instituted in July this year, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday.

Air India issued an internal order on July 14 asking its departmental heads and regional directors to identify employees, based on various factors such as efficiency, health and redundancy, who will be sent on compulsory LWP for up to five years.

Moreover, the national carrier had said the employees can voluntarily opt for the LWP scheme too.

"A total of 58 employees of Air India and one employee of Alliance Air Aviation Limited have availed leave under the LWP scheme-2020," Puri said on Monday.

"Air India Express Ltd, Air India Engineering Services Limited and Hotel Corporation of India Limited (subsidiaries of Air India) have not implemented/ introduced the LWP Scheme-2020," he clarified in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All airlines in the country have gone for cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, LWP or firing of employees.

Air India has a debt of around Rs 70,000 crore and the government had started the process to sell it to a private entity in January. The national carrier's net loss in 2018-19 was pegged at around Rs 8,500 crore.

Moreover, An estimated 9,488 pilots will be required in India in the next five years, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday.

"The total number of pilots employed in the country with scheduled airlines at present is 9,073," Puri said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

He said 700-800 commercial pilot licences (CPLs) are issued by the aviation regulator DGCA in a year. Of these, 30 per cent CPLs are given to those who have undergone training in a foreign organisation, Puri added.

The aviation sector has been hit hugely by the coronavirus pandemic.

Therefore, all domestic carriers have instituted various cost-cutting measures like pay cuts, layoffs or leave without pay in the past few months.