Mumbai: Four years after lowering the retirement age from 60 to 58 years, Air-India (AI) has written to the Civil Aviation Ministry that it should be rolled back to 60 years again.

"The Civil Aviation Ministry has written to us and sought our comments on rolling back the age to 60 years and we have accordingly submitted our proposal to increase the age limit," A-I sources said in Mumbai on May 11.

The extension of the age limit to the managing director, however, has been left to the Union government's decision, they said.

No recruitment has taken place since 1994 and with a fleet acquisition plan awaiting clearances, there is a shortage of senior level and experienced officials and hence the need for this proposal.

At present, the licenced category, consisting of pilots and engineers are immediately given a two-year extension by placing them on contract on reaching the age of super-annuation.

Since 1999, when the retirement age was reduced to 58 years, the employee strength has come down from 18,900 to the present 16,200, the lowest ever the airline had in 1983 when the fleet strength was 14 jet aircraft. The airline presently has a fleet of 30 aircraft, including 11 taken on lease.

Air-India was one of the first public sector units to reduce the retirement age to 58 years when introduced in 1997, while other undertakings still continue to maintain 60 years as retirement age.

PTI