Air India has cut employee allowances by up to 50 per cent, extending the cost-cutting measures in less than a week, CNBC-TV18 reported. The airline will also pay the flying allowances to pilots as per the actual flying hours in a month, the report said. The revised allowances will come into effect from April 1, 2020. Air India’s decision to cut the allowances have come after it announced to send many employees on leave without pay for as long as five years. The airline is burdened with heavy debt, on which the grounding of planes due to travel restrictions has hammered another nail.
The aviation sector is one of the areas which has felt the maximum impact of the nationwide lockdown. With all planes grounded for nearly two months, the airlines struggled to pay even the maintenance cost and salaries of employees. Earlier this week, airline company Indigo had announced to lay off 10 per cent of its employees in order to maintain its operating expenses.
