More than 35 Air-India pilots, owing allegiance to the now derecognised Indian Pilots Guild, have reported for duty, the airline said on Thursday.
Air-India operated 4 of its scheduled international flights from Mumbai while the management sent letters to the Indian Pilots Guild asking it to withdraw all directives about operations to the SARS-affected regions.
The carrier will now revise its flight schedule and operate additional services to the Gulf and restore the Chennai-Singapore flights from Sunday.
Disciplinary action against 45 suspended pilots would also be taken to its logical conclusion, they added.
Spokesman of the Indian Pilots' Guild, Captain Mahesh Gulwani, said the decision to withdraw the stir followed three rounds of talks with Union Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma.
Air-India has de-recognised the Indian Pilots Guild with immediate effect, suspended 18 more pilots for refusing to fly.
More than 150 pilots of Air-India have formed a new union following the derecognition of Indian Pilots Guild in April.\n\n\n\n
Air-India on Saturday announced a revised flight schedule from Mumbai for May 4-7, pending restoration of normalcy in flight operations on the withdrawal of directives by the de-recognised Indian Pilots Guild.
The Mumbai high court on Friday allowed 24 suspended Air-India pilots to join duty and operate flights, but asked them to submit their replies to the chargesheet served on them by the management explaining the reasons for refusal to operate flights.
Defying the directive of the Indian Pilots Guild, some pilots of Air-India on Wednesday reported for duty and rostered for flights.
State-run Air-India said on Sunday it will suspend more pilots for refusing to fly to SARS-affected countries.
The total number of those suspended since the trouble over SARS began has gone up to 27.
Talks between senior officials of civil aviation ministry and the Indian Pilots Guild began in Mumbai on Saturday shortly after noon to resolve the issue of operating in SARS-affected regions by the unions.
The flights cancelled are to Dubai (AI 713), Delhi-London (AI 129), Delhi-Hong Kong (AI 310), Chennai-Singapore (AI 472) and Kuwait (AI 859). The problem is SARS.
Air-India has temporarily suspended its flights from Delhi and Hyderabad to Singapore with effect from Monday due to SARS and the Indian Pilots Guild's decision not to operate flights to Singapore.
Air-India has decided to further curtail its services to Hong Kong following a drop in loads due to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome scare as well as a directive from the Indian Pilots Guild asking line pilots not to operate on this sector.
IPG general secretary Capt Vikrant Sansare said the Air-India management 'is aware of it'.
Air-India and Indian Airlines have decided to maintain their services to Kuwait despite a directive from the pilot unions of both the airlines to its members not to operate flights in and out of the Gulf country.
In a letter to Air India Chairman and Managing Director Rajiv Bansal, the ICPA said, "In the press conference by Honourable Minister Shri Hardeep Singh Puri dated 16th July 2020, you had stated 'we are in negotiation with the pilots', which is far from reality." "It was not a negotiation, but the 'diktat' of the MoCA (ministry of civil aviation) which was conveyed to us. We would also like to place on record that the so-called negotiation was 'not harmonious' in any aspect," the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) noted.
Air India and Indian Airlines merged in 2007.
The national carrier currently has 15 recognised trade unions.
The Air India board has cleared a proposal for sending its pilots on deputation to its budget arm, Air India Express, which has been facing shortage of commanders for some time now.
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