Jet to fire 25 expat pilots

Private carrier Jet Airways is understood to have decided not to renew 25 foreign pilots' service contracts, which are ending this month.

The pilots have been served 30-day notice stating that their services were not required at this stage, a Jet Airways source told PTI on Tuesday.

The contract of these pilots ended in October, and the airline has decided not to renew their services further, the source added.

When contacted, the company spokesperson said the pilots have been offered the option of availing temporary leave from work till market conditions improve.

"Based on current requirement for cockpit crew of our Boeing 777 fleet, we have offered some expat pilots the option of having a claim on employment while being furloughed until further notice, in case the company requires their services at a future date," a Jet Airways spokesperson said.

The airline has around 163 expat pilots out of over 900 pilots engaged in the operations.

The expat pilots had some time back become a big issue in the airline, with domestic pilots alleging that the airline was discriminating between them on the issue of cost-cutting.

Jet Airways had discontinued the services of 32 foreign pilots in last November also.