At least 112 Air India pilots reported sick four days after the airline’s Ahmedabad-Gatwick flight crashed 33 seconds after taking off, killing all but one of the 242 people on board and another 19 people on the ground, the government told Parliament on Thursday.

On average, Air India — which has an estimated 1,700 pilots — sees close to 50 of them report in sick daily, a person aware of the matter said, asking not to be named. The government said the airline reported a “minor increase” in sick leaves after the June 12 crash.

“Air India reported a minor increase in sick leaves reported by pilots across all fleets in the aftermath of the AI-171 accident. On 16.06.202, a total of 112 pilots reported sick, comprising 51 commanders (P1) and 61 first officers (P2),” said Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol in a written reply.
He was responding to BJP MP Jai Prakash, whether it is a fact that in the aftermath of the Air India-171 crash, Air India has been experiencing mass sick reporting by its flight crew members, and whether the Government has taken remedial measures such as holding post-trauma mental health workshops to mitigate their stress.

The airline official cited above added that there had been an increase in pilots reporting they were unwell the day after the incident. “The spike was very minor in the beginning, and it peaked on June 16,” this person added. “DGCA has already issued a medical circular regarding mental health of flight crews and air traffic controllers (ATCOs) on 22 Feb 2023, which lays down guidelines for operators (scheduled and non-scheduled) and DGCA-empanelled medical examiners,” Mohol said.
He added that the guidelines include “quick and effective methods to assess mental health that can easily be performed by the DGCA-empanelled medical examiners during the Class 1/2/3 medical examination.”
The government has also introduced a standalone, customised training capsule for flight crew and ATCOs to help manage the adverse effects of mental health conditions, it stated, the written reply added.
“Additionally, on mental health monitoring, the organisations (scheduled and non-scheduled operators, FTOs and AAI (Airports Authority of India) were also advised to have a Peer Support Programme (PSP) in place for their employees. The organisations are required to enable, facilitate and ensure access to this proactive and non-punitive programme that will assist and support flight crew/ATCOs in recognising, coping with and overcoming any problem,” the minister said.