Akasa sues 43 pilots who quit recently, seeks Rs 22 crore damages

Thirteen-month-old Akasa has sued over 40 pilots who resigned from it to join other airlines in the past couple of months. The virtual exodus has forced the airline, which started flying last August, to cancel several flights since last month. As a result, its August 2023 domestic market share had slipped behind that of cash-strapped SpiceJet which it had overtaken in June. Akasa is learnt to have sought about Rs 22 crore as compensation towards loss of revenue and reputation from the 43 pilots who it claims left without serving the mandatory notice period. An Akasa Air spokesperson said the airline has "sought legal remedy only against a small set of pilots who abandoned their duties and left without serving their mandatory contractual notice period.... Not only is this illegal in law but also an unethical and selfish act that disrupted flights in August forcing last minute cancellations that stranded thousands of customers causing significant inconvenience to the travelling public."Citing breach of training agreement, the “particulars of claim” in a notice served to one of the pilots reads: “Loss of operational profits on account of business disruption caused… (by) cancellation, rescheduling and grounding of flights… loss of reputation…” Apart from moving court, the airline has also written to aviation authorities on the issue. Akasa has reached a fleet size of 20 aircraft within a year of starting operations.<br/>