If most Jet Airways pilots cited headache and backache when they reported “sick” during their strike earlier this month, Air India executive pilots claimed they were down with toothache, migraine, loose motions when they struck work.

All 82 Mumbai-based AI executive pilots who called in “sick” on September 26-27 have been told to obtain fitness certificates from the airline’s doctor. And to ensure they got fitness certificates to rejoin duty immediately, Air India kept its medical centre open beyond working hours this evening.

“All our attention was on restoring normalcy, we opened our medical centre beyond 5 pm to ensure all pilots are given fitness certificate by the airline’s doctor,” said Jitender Bhargava, Executive Director (Corporate Communications).

At the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, an AI pilot, who headed for a medical examination, said: “I had pain in my lower back. I reported to the doctor and he certified me sick on September 26. The doctor does not have an option if the pilot says he is unwell. Now I have to resume flying, so the doctor needs to certify me fit-to-fly after a medical check-up.”

According to an official, a pilot doesn’t need to specify an ailment in case of sick leave for two days. “He may be suffering from a normal headache or migraine, an upset stomach or any ailment, big or small. In that case, the pilot is certainly not fit to fly. He may need to get himself certified ‘unfit’ after two days of such leave,” the official said.

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