India’s pilot shortage is compounded by regulatory overreach, unplanned growth

livemint.com:

₹21 crore in damages from the pilots for failing to serve the mandatory notice period of six months for pilots and one year for commanders. Damages have been sought on account of revenue loss caused by cancelled flights, reputational loss to the airline, and the costs it had incurred on training the pilots. The airline simultaneously moved the Delhi High Court, asking it to take action against the pilots.

That’s because, unlike in most industries where the notice period forms a part of the terms of engagement between employer and employee, in the case of civil aviation, the DGCA has its own norms on notice periods for pilots and commanders. Failure to comply with the DGCA-mandated notice period can attract severe penalties, such as a ban on joining any other airline for a year and even cancellation of the pilot’s licence. The root of the dispute is a 2005 order issued by the DGCA under its Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) rules, in which it imposed a minimum notice period of six months on pilots of all ranks.

The notification it issued at the time argued: “It has been observed that pilots are resigning without providing any notice to the airlines. In some cases, even groups of pilots resign together without notice and as a result airlines are forced to cancel their flights at the last minute. Such resignation by the pilots and the resultant cancellation of flights causes inconvenience and harassment to the passengers.