Crying Shame: Pilots Succumb To Covid, Waiting For The Jab

At least 20 pilots succumbed to Covid-19 during the second wave of the virus. Of them four had taken part in Vande Bharat missions to bring back stranded Indians from many parts of the world

Jeevan Prakash Sharma

Updated on: 5 June 2021 2:06 pm

Had the Union health ministry acted on time, the lives of 20 pilots, who died due to Covid-19 during the second wave, could have been saved.

As early as April 16, the Indian Pilots’ Guild (IPG) had written a letter to Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and stated that “all aircrew (irrespective of age) must be offered vaccination at the earliest.”

A copy of the letter, which Outlook has accessed from a source in the ministry shows that it was also marked to the Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs among some other senior government officials.

However, it went unnoticed as no one in any of the three ministries acted on time.

Air India was the first airlines to start vaccinating its pilots and cabin crew from May 15, almost a month after IPG's letter to the Health Ministry. Rest of the airlines started the inoculation drive after that.

“Considering that one vial equates 10 doses, it would for eg. require a mere 200 vials to completely vaccinate all the pilots of Air India, and a few hundred more to vaccinate the entire aircrew. A resource that could most easily be allocated for such an important cause,” the letter stated.

Addressing Dr Harsh Vardhan, it added, “We urge you to vaccinate all aircrew at the earliest. Logistically even, this exercise would deliver the maximum effect for minimal use of resources.”

It is noteworthy that at least four out of the 20 odd deceased pilots, were part of missions to help bring back stranded Indians from many parts of the world.

One among them was 54-year-old Air India pilot Captain Prasad. M. Karmakar, who lost his battle to Covid-19 on May 27. He had actively participated in the government’s Vande Bharat Mission under which he brought back thousands of Indians from the United States.

Meanwhile, another pilot Capt. Amitesh Prasad, serving in Air India since December 1995, died due to Covid complications. He was actively involved in flying cargo missions to Shanghai and Guangzhou when the pandemic had struck last year. He had been flying the Vande Bharat flights to and from the US until he contracted the virus.

Besides these recuse missions, among the deceased, there were pilots who were engaged in transporting vaccines to different parts of the country to make the government’s vaccination drive a success. They belonged to various airlines such as Air India, IndiGo, Vistara among others.

The IPG’s letter referred to various recommendations issued by international bodies such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which had urged all United Nations Member States to prioritize seafarers and aircrew in their national Covid-19 vaccination programs, to protect them through vaccination as soon as possible and to facilitate their safe movement across borders.

The pilots also highlighted that international aircrew are exposed to newly emerging ‘mutant’ strains of the virus. “Our safety, therefore, plays a crucial role in protecting our nation. A vaccinated crew member would stand as a natural barrier against these new strains,” their letter stated.

It added, “Closer to home, mass vaccination drives have been successfully conducted for CISF personnel working at our airports. Hence at the airport, the aircrew are the ‘weak link’ in the chain. Railways and Public transport agencies have also vaccinated their workers en masse.”

The letter had also drawn attention to the economic disadvantage that the Indian aviation sector might suffer as the competitor airlines based in the gulf started vaccinating their aircrew as early as December 2020 and boasted of operating with “fully vaccinated frontline teams across all customer touchpoints” since February 2020.

“In the same month, Singapore Airlines commenced international flights with a fully vaccinated aircrew, the letter said adding, “operating with unvaccinated crew would put us at an economic disadvantage, where passengers may choose to fly with our competitors due to this very shortcoming.”

Talking about the unfolding crisis, a pilot working with a private airline said requesting anonymity, “Airline crew should have been considered “frontline workers” and vaccinated at the first opportunity. Yes, we lost some dear friends. Even as young as 28. The government is an expert in dragging its feet. There is a total freeze on decision making.”