Indigo to discontinue non-wage holiday program for employees from January 1

IndiGo has announced the closure of the Non-Salary Leave (LWP) program. Its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ronjoy Dutta said that the Non-Salary Leave (LWP) program for senior employees will be discontinued from January 1 next year. The airline has announced this in the hope of improving revenue.

Limited and graded LWP

On May 8, amid restrictions imposed by the coronavirus, Datta said that a ‘limited and graded LWP’ program would be implemented for all employees. This program will not be for the lowest group level A employees. In the midst of the epidemic, all airlines have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, no pay leave.

On May 8, the salary of senior employees was cut by five to 25 percent.

The LWP implemented by Indigo is 1.5 to 5 days depending on the group of employees. On May 8, IndiGo also announced a cut of five to 25 percent in the salaries of its senior employees. The pay cut is still in force. In an e-mail sent to the employees, Dutta has said that at this time we are on the path of improvement. We expect the government to allow us to operate at 100 percent of domestic capacity from next year. Currently, Indian airlines are allowed to operate domestic flights equivalent to 80 percent of pre-Covid levels.

International passenger flights to India have been suspended since 23 March. However, special international passenger flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May. Dutta said that international traffic is challenging and it is a matter of concern.

Dutta said that the last six months were really unstable and the airline suffered big losses, adding that we needed to stabilize once again as soon as possible.