Air India's Mumbai operations have almost come to a standstill with the strike by its pilots entering the fourth day on Saturday. The national carrier did not undertake any operations from the metropolis till 9 am due to the strike,an AI spokeswoman said. Between 9 am and 11.30 am there were five flights,she said. Meanwhile,the Mumbai International Airport's main runway was shut between 11.30 am and 3.30 pm Saturday for repair work. The runway was closed on April 23 also for the same reason. On Saturday,AI had operated just 12 flights from the financial capital. Normally,the state-owned carrier operates over 40 flights a day on the domestic sector from here using narrow bodied aircraft. Nearly 850 AI pilots are continuing their strike ignoring stern warning of sacking by the management and the Delhi High Court's decision to initiate contempt proceedings against them. Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA),which is spearheading the stir,is demanding a higher fixed component in the salary package,a CBI probe into the alleged mismanagement which has led to losses of over Rs 16,000 crore and removal of Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav holding him responsible for the "financial mess".
