Air India pilots raise concerns over mental health issues owing to lack of pay

The News Minute | April 1, 2015 | 11:31 a.m. IST Reports that the co-pilot, suspected to be behind the Germanwings airplane crash, had requested authorities for psychiatric treatment six years ago, have triggered alarms within the Indian Commercial Pilot’s Association. The body has reportedly written a letter to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation citing concerns surrounding the mental state of its pilots due to unpaid salaries.According to a report in the Bangalore Mirror, in its seven-point letter, the ICPA has questioned the DCGA on its hesitance in intervening on the behalf of Air India (AI) pilots who haven’t received their full salaries and allowances for the past 32 months. The DCGA has intervened on behalf of the staff at SpiceJet and Kingfisher when similar circumstances arose, though.A union member, who declined to be named in the report also raised concerns over the Airbus A320, an aircraft which is 26-years-old, and the model in use during the recent, ill-fated crash . “Snags reported by pilots are repeatedly being put in deferred maintenance citing lack of spares as the reason. DGCA should not permit AI to operate these lethal snag-prone classic aircraft in view of passenger safety”, says the union member.However, Air India maintains that the aircrafts are safe and certified for flying.Read more at: Pay woes affecting our mental health: AI pilotsTweet Follow @thenewsminute