SpiceJet pilots under pay-cut stress, safety hit, alleges ex-Capt; airline denies allegation

Sep 1, 2021

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MUMBAI: The large pay reduce imposed by SpiceJet for the previous eighteen months has put its pilots below super monetary stress which has turned the airline right into a flying hazard, mentioned a pilot who resigned from SpiceJet this yr after 9 years of service.
In a damning open letter despatched to the Prime Minister and high civil aviation officers on Tuesday, Capt Vinodh Loganathan mentioned that there have been situations of first officers and crew breaking down within the cockpit and so needed to be consoled.
SpiceJet in an announcement to TOI, strongly denied the allegation of flight security hazard resulting from monetary stress as “utterly false, baseless” SpiceJet mentioned it “has a powerful flight security tradition and an impeccable security document. It continues to keep up the best requirements of security in operations with no compromise on high quality.”
The airline mentioned: “The ex-employee had a historical past of poor efficiency on account of his angle, failure in checks and exams and being abusive to his colleagues particularly juniors.”
Refuting this, Capt Loganathan mentioned: “I’ve by no means failed any checks. Their allegation is totally frivolous. I’ve documentary proof.”
Capt Loganathan mentioned he had utilized for a publish within the Directorate Basic of Civil Aviation a number of months in the past and SpiceJet vice-president, operations had despatched an NOC letter to the DGCA on June 10, 2021. He shared the mentioned letter with TOI. It acknowledged that Capt Loganathan had “maintained a excessive stage of proficiency, integrity and no penalty or administrative motion whether or not main or minor was imposed towards him” when he was employed with SpiceJet.
The previous SpiceJet pilot, in his August 31 letter, titled, ‘The flight security hazard referred to as SpiceJet’ mentioned that whereas different airways have imposed a 15-30 % wage reduce, SpiceJet workers, together with pilots have been below a 70-85 % reduce since March 2020. SpiceJet didn’t reply to a selected question in regards to the quantum of wage reduce.
The letter mentioned that many pilots have bought their homes or have been pressured out of their houses by the banks resulting from EMI non-payment.
“Anybody who asks for his or her wage are off rostered and compelled to resign….Many pilots and cabin crew are financially burdened and usually are not in a way of thinking to function. A financially burdened set of crew are a flight security menace and since they aren’t in the best way of thinking a crash can occur anytime,” mentioned Capt Loganathan’s letter.
“I do know I’ve taken an enormous threat by bringing this out within the open and SpiceJet will be sure that there will likely be no place left for me in aviation in India. Nevertheless, being an aviator, for the sake of my unlucky colleagues and being a citizen of this nice nation, I contemplate it my obligation to convey this security hazard to you,” mentioned the 38-year previous captain, who has over 5,500 hours of flying expertise. The pilot alleged that when he raised the wage matter, he was verbally abused by sure SpiceJet officers, his flying duties stopped and he was pressured to resign.
Capt Mohan Ranganathan, an air security knowledgeable mentioned: “The 2 traditional examples of pilot suicide resulting from monetary stress are SilkAir crash in December 1997 and Egypt Air 990 crash off the east coast of US. One of many main causes of accidents is delayed crew response to a doubtlessly harmful state of affairs. When you’re below such sort of stress, response time may very well be delayed by a number of seconds and that might result in a deadly accident.”
SpiceJet issued a 500 phrase assertion. Right here it’s in full.
“We check with the e-mail communication being circulated by one Captain Vinod Longanathan agitating and alleging flight security hazard at SpiceJet and giving an unfounded color of being an unsafe airline resulting from monetary stress brought on to sure unnamed workers are utterly false, baseless and we deny all of them strongly.
The ex-employee had resigned from the Firm at first of Covid in 2020. He later withdrew his resignation. Captain Vinod was later off-rostered for indiscipline. The ex-employee had a historical past of poor efficiency on account of his angle, failure in checks and exams and being abusive to his colleagues particularly juniors. The precise situations are nicely documented in his firm information. When the Firm determined to terminate his providers on account of his conduct, he selected to submit his resignation somewhat than face “providers terminated on account of poor conduct”. Taking a compassionate view the Firm accepted his resignation.
This whole communication is an try at propagating falsities. We hope that the media sees by this and isn’t misled into reporting frivolous and defamatory allegations and may as an alternative search proof from the ex-employee to substantiate these allegations.
Insinuating {that a} fellow colleague dedicated suicide resulting from monetary stress attributable to wage points is totally unfounded and based mostly upon unsuitable surmises. The Firm has already clarified that the crew member had been flying all through and was being paid repeatedly like all flying crew.
To govern details and point out this incident within the letter is one other deliberate try and sensationalise the unlucky passing away of a colleague and create a scare. Captain Vinod is trying to truly interact right into a media trial of an occasion which by no stretch of creativeness attracts any such conclusion.
That is an try by a disgruntled ex-employee to sensationalise and create a false security scare and hyperlink it to an unlucky crash (outdoors India). The allegations within the letter are an outright lie and an try and malign the Firm and could be met with strongest authorized motion.
The conduct of the ex-employee can itself be a menace to the cockpit for which he’s presently pledging and trumpeting this revolting desecration. SpiceJet has a powerful flight security tradition and an impeccable security document. It continues to keep up the best requirements of security in operations with no compromise on high quality.
Aviation is without doubt one of the most severely affected trade within the present pandemic. Like airways worldwide, SpiceJet launched a revised pay construction for its flying crew final yr and has been paying them accordingly. The wage cuts introduced in April 2020 have been partially rescinded final yr itself. There have been no pay cuts for colleagues within the lowest pay grades and the CMD took the best pay reduce throughout this time. For the current monetary yr, he has truly not drawn any wage resulting from burdened operations on account of second wave regardless of participating full time at work. The opposite initiatives of the airline and primarily SpiceXpress have truly helped the airline maintain throughout these difficult instances.”



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