After IndiGo and GoAir, Spicejet cuts employee pay between 10-30%, which includes its chairman

• Indian low-cost airline Spicejet today announced that it would cut 10%-30% of employee salaries across roles, in March.
  
• The airline also said that the pay cut applies to the chairman Ajay Singh also, who will take 30% less pay for the month.
  
• This comes after IndiGo also said that they would trim the employee salaries by 25%, starting next month — including CEO Ronojoy Dutta — stating ‘precipitous drop in revenues.’
  
• AirAsia told its employees that its fleet expansion plans are paused for now. The airline planned on increasing from 33 planes to 40 planes by the end of May.
  
• The development comes after the Indian government extended the ban on international flights till April 14 to battle Coronavirus.

Airlines are the worst hit as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic as both domestic and international travel has come to a standstill.

Indian low-cost airline Spicejet today announced that it would cut 10%-30% of the salary of employees across roles in March, PTI reported. The airline also said that the pay cut applies to the Chairman Ajay Singh also, who will take 30% less pay for the month.

This comes after IndiGo also said that they would trim the employee salaries by 25%, starting next month — including CEO Ronojoy Dutta — stating ‘precipitous drop in revenues.’ Salaries account for over 10% of the total expenses for IndiGo — which spent ₹3,210 crore on paychecks last financial year.

Meanwhile, GoAir too said that it will cut salaries across levels which said it had no other option. “There is a complete lockdown, we cannot operate flights and it is difficult to keep the company going like this. We have made huge losses on our revenues. We are trying our best that the lowest in the strata of employees do not get affected but it is paramount that we do it in order to sustain the company,”Businessline reported citing sources.

The airline plans to keep as much as 35% of its workforce on leave without pay for a month, PTI report said. This would include staff at overseas airports. It also said the airline was planning a 20% pay cut for employees in a staggered manner.

On the other hand, AirAsia told its employees that its fleet expansion plans are paused for now. The airline had planned on increasing from 33 planes to 40 planes by the end of May.

The cash-strapped national carrier Air India also announced cost-cutting measures which included reducing allowances or suspending services that it pays to its executive pilots, cabin crew and ground staff.

The development comes after the Indian government extended the ban on international flights till April 14 to battle Coronavirus. However, this restriction is not applicable to international cargo operations and flights are specifically approved by it.

As of now, the domestic flight operations have been banned until March 31 — but are expected to be extended, given the 21-days nationwide lockdown.

Recently, the Indian aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) extended the validity of pilots’ licences that are up for renewal in the next 90 days as the lockdown has suspended the training of the flight crew. The validity of medical assessment certificates, aircraft rating certificates, skill test certificates has also been extended.

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Indian aviation regulator extends validity of pilot licences and other certificates by 90 days