The conflict between the Air India management and a section of protesting pilots has further intensified with the Indian Commercial Pilots Association firing yet another directive against the airline's top brass.

The chief executive committee of the pilots association has mailed a circular to all its members to follow the directive with immediate effect which instructs all the member pilots not to undertake any flights with airline’s senior pilot captain Subodh Nigam. The resolution says, “It is hereby directed to all pilots to not undertake any flights/training/checks with captain Subodh Nigam as he is a ‘traitor, acting professionally and against the interest of the pilot community’."

Earlier also the ICPA had sent a stinker to Nigam, for “intimidating” and “illegally threatening” pilots and accused him of adopting “unfair practices”. Nigam was accused of bargaining with protesting pilots on behalf of the management. 

Nigam, general manager (operations) of Air India was earlier also asked by the ICPA asked to refrain from anti-pilot activities.

The ICPA said that he was illegally threatening individual pilots on phone and also stop forcing the pilots to sign any paper against their will.

ICPA had earlier warned of a strike from March 9, and then deferred it twice following conciliatory proceedings pending in the Labour Commissioner's office. ICPA, claiming to represent around 880 pilots belonging to erstwhile Indian Airlines, has been demanding pay parity with their counterparts flying bigger planes from Air India.

The management had agreed to submit an interim package to the civil aviation ministry by March 31 in the second round of conciliatory talks. Earlier, Delhi High Court had banned pilots from going on a strike during the pendency of the matter.