Akasa Air has filed suits against six pilots in the Bombay High Court for breach of contract after they left the airline to join Air India Express without serving their notice period.

The airline has claimed training expenses and the amount incurred due to operational and reputational loss of up to ₹22 crore from the defendant pilots. The suits were filed earlier in the week and are yet to be admitted by the High Court.

The airline’s latest legal action comes after its poor showing in August. Akasa Air was forced to cancel flights following a sudden exit of pilots, which also led to a drop in market share in August.

Last month, it served legal notices to 19 pilots who left the airline to join Air India Express without serving a notice period. In their response, the pilots denied the charges and said the required bond amount had been paid to the airline.

“We have sought legal remedy only against a small set of pilots who abandoned their duties and left without serving their mandatory contractual notice period. This was not only in violation of their contract but also the country’s civil aviation regulation. Not only is this illegal in law but also an unethical and selfish act that disrupted flights in August, forcing last minute cancellations that stranded thousands of customers causing significant inconvenience to the travelling public,” Akasa Air said.

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