Air India orders probe into rostering scam; cockpit crew making easy money

Even as the government’s efforts to sell majority stake in Air India came a cropper, it has come to light that a section of Air India’s pilots, deputy general managers (DGMs), clerks and other officials has been making some easy money on the side by playing the system. Airbus and Dreamliner pilots’ flying hours and rosters are being nimbly manipulated, with the result that the loss-making national carrier is ending up paying these pilots a lot more than it needs to. To encourage flying, Air India has an absurd rule in place that says that pilots will be paid for 70 hours of flying per month provided they do a minimum of 40 hours’ flying. Above 70 hours, there is overtime payment in three slabs — 70-80 hours, 80-90 hours and 90-100 hours. Hence, even if a pilot flies 40 hours in a month, he gets paid for 70 hours. But if he does 39 hours, he gets paid for 39 hours.