The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has the authority to take action against pilots who are non-compliant. The Court’s interim order came on Akasa Air’s plea seeking DGCA’s involvement in addressing pilots who left their positions without fulfilling their contractual obligations.

The single-judge Bench emphasised that before any specific directions are given in this case, the matter of jurisdiction needs to be considered. The matter will be heard again on October 13.

Aviation regulator DGCA had previously stated that it did not have the authority to get involved in the employment agreements between pilots and airlines.

Akasa Air had taken legal action to seek consequences against pilots who had left their positions without fulfilling their required notice periods as per their contracts.

Legal action

The airline’s legal action came after 43 pilots left their roles without serving the mandatory notice period. This departure caused disruptions in flights from July to September, resulting in last-minute flight cancellations.

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court has allowed Akasa Air to proceed with its suits against five pilots who left the airline without serving six-months notice period.

The pilots had questioned the maintainability of the suit saying that the Bombay High Court had no jurisdiction to hear the suit. They contested that no part of the cause action took place in Mumbai. However, the court turned down their plea. The matter will be heard on October 5

The airline has claimed training expenses and amount incurred due to operational and reputational loss of up to ₹22 crore from the defendant pilots.

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