20 Sahara pilots join Kingfisher

Air passengers continued to suffer on Tuesday as the Air Sahara pilots' strike entered its third day.

According to reports, around 20 Air Sahara pilots have joined Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines, three days after they went on strike.

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Air passengers continued to suffer on Tuesday as the Air Sahara pilots' strike entered its third day, forcing the private airline to cancel 13 of its scheduled flights from Delhi to Guwahati, Pune and Jammu.

There had been unrest among Sahara pilots after the $500 million takeover of the airlines by Jet Airways, as post-buyout their pay and perks are on the lower side than that of the acquired airline. Besides, there apparently is no guarantee of protection of their seniority.

Protesting against this "reduced" pay packet, a section of its pilots suddenly took sick leave on Sunday. As a result, several flights had to be cancelled or rescheduled creating chaotic scenes at busy airports like New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.