Three pilots of Air India flight from US test positive for Covid

Three pilots of Air India flight from US test positive for Covid

Saurabh.Sinha@timesgroup.com

15.07.2020

New Delhi:

Three of the four pilots who operated Air India’s Washington-Delhi (AI 104) nonstop on Monday tested positive for the novel coronavirus on arrival, sparking fresh fears in the cash-strapped airline. As per protocol, these four senior pilots had been rostered to operate Delhi-Washington (AI 103) last Thursday after they tested negative. Being a long haul, the Dreamliner Boeing 787 had two sets of crew for operating it by turns.

“They had a layover in Washington for three days and operated the return flight on Sunday morning (local time) that landed here on Monday. They were tested on arrival and found positive.AI has created a facility for crew members who show mild symptoms and do not need to be hospitalised,” said an official.

The airline spokesperson confirmed that three of the four pilots of this flight had tested positive. The cabin crew of this flight was not infected.

AI has put in place a strict three-tier testing mechanism. First, all crew members need to undergo the test and only those who test negative are assigned to operate flights. On return to India, the crew is again tested and put up in hotels till the result comes. Those found negative are sent home. Then after 120 hours, the crew which had tested negative— is subjected to another test to ensure they are Covid-free.

“We were facing issues with crew members who were found to be corona positive with mild symptoms and not so sick that they need to be hospitalised. This was especially true for crew members who flew into Delhi and tested positive because of which they couldn’t return to their Noida homes. The airline some time back created a facility for these mild or asymptomatic corona positive cases,” said a senior pilot.

Cash-starved AI has been operating the maximum number of Vande Bharat Mission flights. The crew members are, however, upset about uncertainty of pay. “We risk our lives to operate the VBM flights as a ‘national duty’ to bring our compatriots home and many of us have tested positive. Despite that, two months’ flying allowance (which comprises over 70% of their total pay) is yet to be paid to us,” said a senior crew member.

The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) had recently warned the government that they were reaching a “breaking point” because of unpaid salaries and that only “lip service” was being done while hailing AI employees as corona warriors.

12 0  HOURS AFTER FIRST TEST, THE CREW IS EXAMINED AGAIN