Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said the demands of the striking Air India employees cannot be accepted.

According to a NDTV report, Vayalar Ravi said 1,600 Air India pilots drew a total salary of about Rs 800 crore (Rs 8 billion) in a year.

The combined salaries of 28,000 other employees also amounted to Rs 800 crore, the minister said.

The minister supported the airline management stating that the Air India pilots are among the highest paid in India.

Air India cancelled 60 flights on Thursday morning leaving many flyers stranded.

On Wednesday, at least 40 Air India flights were cancelled on the first day of the strike by its pilots causing enormous hardship to thousands of travellers.

Demanding removal of Air India CMD and a CBI probe into the alleged mismanagement, 800-odd pilots belonging to the erstwhile Indian Airlines and owing allegiance to the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) have gone on an indefinite strike from Tuesday midnight.