The two sacked senior pilots are Balaraman and Sam Thomas. They were told of their termination by e-mail.

Girish Kaushik, president of the pilots' guild, said it has issued a 14-day mandatory notice to the airline management apprising it about the decision to go on strike.

The guild has said the sacking of the two pilots was unjustified and an act of vendetta as they were involved in starting a pilot's union.