Air India under fire for delaying salaries second month running

New Delhi: Over 20,000 Air India employees have not received their salaries for the second successive month despite the national carrier's union representing narrow body pilots last month claiming that a majority of its members were defaulting on bank loans due to the delays. Similar to other public sector enterprises, Air India is expected to pay its employees their wages on the last day of the month. But the national carrier provided no timeline for finishing their payment process.

"Air India has not paid the December salary to its entire staff till today (Jan 7). Worst, there is no word on the date of payment," an airline official said. Despite giving no final date for the payment of salaries, an Air India spokesperson said payment is under "process," without offering a timeline for the "process" to be completed.

The move comes after the Modi government last month sought approval from parliament for an equity infusion of 2300 crore rupees into Air India. The government is also likely to add 800 crore rupees for Air India Asset Holding, a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

Even though the airline has suffered losses for years, their net loss declined to Rs 5,337 crore in FY18 from the previous fiscal when it had a higher loss of Rs 6,281 crore, according to the latest Public Enterprises Survey 2017-18.