Divestment-bound regional airline Alliance Air will hold a board meeting on Sept. 16 to bring pilot salaries back to pre-pandemic levels, CEO Vineet Sood said Friday.

Sood sent out the email last night after a significant number of pilots went on strike during the day over the salary recovery issue, forcing the airline to cancel many flights.

"Your concerns have been well noted and I sympathize with you. It has been a very difficult and turbulent past 2.5 years for all of us and the aviation association in general, which has not only affected us financially, but also drained us emotionally said Sood.

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian carriers had cut their employees' salaries to reduce their losses. This year, many of them have restored salaries, but a few have yet to do so.

“Tough decisions have been made in these difficult times which I strongly believe were necessary to sustain us and I am proud that you all contributed to the cause and that is why Alliance Air survived and on a gradual road to recovery," Sood noted.

However, the airline is still at a loss despite several measures it has taken to improve the company's financial health, he said.

Despite all the setbacks, the CEO said, he has made sure that the monthly salary is paid consistently on the 1st of every month to instill the required confidence in the employees.

After Air India's divestment of the Tata Group last year, Alliance Air is the only airline left by the central government. The Center is preparing to sell Alliance Air to a private player as well.

“With regard to salary recovery, we have already partially recovered salary in the month of April 2022 and are considering further salary recovery from September 2022 for which the board meeting is scheduled for September 16, 2022,” said Sood.

He said this is a financial decision and requires board approval.

“We are working relentlessly for a positive outcome,” he added.

The CEO suggested that a pilot representing each base could meet him collectively on Monday as it would help him understand their concerns.

"In the meantime, I take this opportunity to request all of you that there are no flight disruptions due to crew availability with immediate effect, which could result in our collective effort not being recognized and putting the future of the company at risk." In addition, it will have widespread repercussions and would create a negative image for Alliance Air," he added.