The Airport Authority of India’s (AAI) Regional Executive Director (RED), RC Chitkara, has asked the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) to re-deploy some of the AAI staff. “The RED has written to the company to consider some AAI employees who are well trained and experts in departments such as fire and engineering,” said an AAI official. “AAI has offered to pay their salaries,” he added.

A spokesperson for MIAL confirmed receiving the letter from AAI. He, however, said that at present the MIAL has filled up all its positions and they cannot offer any positions to AAI employees. Also AAI, in its letter has not specified any particular number of posts that they want the AAI staff to fill at the airport.

As many as 700 AAI employees remain out of work after the interim agreement between the state-owned AAI and MIAL came to an end this May after a provisional period of three years.

As reported earlier by Newsline 2,100 non-officer grade employees of the AAI have been shifted out of the Mumbai airport after the agreement ended.

While MIAL was supposed to absorb 60% of AAI staff already working at the Mumbai airport, the company has been able to absorb only about 185 AAI employees (about 7%). As per the latest figures, of the 2,100 employees, AAI’s western region headquarters has absorbed 550 persons while another 160 have opted for the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) floated earlier. Another 690 employees have opted for choice transfers.