A few days ago a pilots’ body of Air India had urged the airlines to vaccinate family members too on priority. Now, a body of India’s airline pilots has demanded ‘frontline worker’ status to its members, seeking all Covid-19 related benefits that go with the tag. The package includes priority vaccination, insurance coverage, and compensation.
As per a NDTV report, the pilots body has cited 17 deaths occured due to COVID-19, 13 of them since February 2021 alone.
In a plea filed before the Bombay High Court, the Federation of Indian Pilot has sought the creation of a separate category, “Air Transportation Workers”, under the ‘frontline worker’ tag.
In a statement, the federation said, “To date, there is no scheme for adequate compensation to pilots in case of their demise. There is no insurance or any other such scheme providing a safety net to pilots. Hence, by this petition filed in public interest, the petitioner seeks to agitate the cause of pilots who have rendered incessant national service for the past more than 14 months.”
The body has 5,619 members working for airlines such as Air India, SpiceJet, IndiGo, Reliance Commercial, Go Air, Saudia, and Vistara.