8% salary restoration for IndiGo pilots, crew; staffers still unimpressed

NEW DELHI: India's largest budget airline IndiGo on Thursday restored the salaries of pilots and cabin crew by 8% with effect from August 1. Also, from July 1, the airline restored layover and deadhead allowances for these employees.

It has also restructured the work pattern for pilots, which will ensure more income for pilots. However, their leaves will be less. Even after the increase, the salaries of these pilots will be 16% lower than their pre-Covid levels.

The decision comes days after a large number of cabin crew took mass leave to participate in Air India's recruitment drive which resulted in a huge embarrassment as 55% of the IndiGo flights reported delays on Saturday.

In April, IndiGo restored the salaries of pilots by 8%. However, this is yet to match pre-Covid salaries. The airline had cut salaries by 28% in May 2020 as part of a cost-cutting drive after the Covid-19 pandemic hindered flight movements.

"We were able to reinstate 8% effective April 1, 2022, and had committed to you that an additional 6.5% would be implemented from November 1, 2022, based on the environment. Subsequently, based on your feedback and enhanced stability in our commercial network, we were able to reinstate layover and deadlock allowances to pre-covid levels effective July 1, 2022," read an internal commune of IndiGo.

A few pilots of IndiGo that TNIE talked to were not very happy with the 8% increase, saying that the management should match their pre-Covid salaries as they are working more than ever.