NEW DELHI: The government has given the nod to 13-month-old Akasa to start international flights which it will do this coming winter. However, for now the youngest Indian airline is fighting on two fronts: an exodus by 43 pilots that has forced it to cancel hundreds of flights in last 2-3 months. Akasa sued these pilots and its lawyer on Tuesday said in a court that the airline was in a “state of crises” and might “shut down” due to their leaving without serving the mandatory notice period of six and 12 months for co-pilots and captains, respectively. A day later the airline management tried to dispel concerns caused by this statement in both employees and passengers alike.
“We are on track to announce a 3-digit aircraft order by the end of this year to serve the growing travel demand,” the airline said in a statement. Akasa co-founder and chief executive Vinay Dube told employees on Wednesday that it had “enough pilots at various phases of their training to fly over 30 aircraft” while describing the exodus as “short-term constraints” that had led to “fly less and give up market share in the short term to offer a more reliable network to customers.” He assured employees that Akasa was “never more confident” about its future. Dube said the airline had enough funds.
