New Delhi, Dec. 13 -- The Delhi High Court has held that airline pilots, including pilots-in-command, fall within the definition of "workman" under the Industrial Disputes Act, ruling that their primary role is technical and operational flying the aircraft and not managerial or supervisory in nature.

The Court found that job titles, command responsibilities during flights, or high salaries cannot, by themselves, exclude pilots from labour law protections.

A Division Bench of Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar delivered the ruling while deciding a batch of Letters Patent Appeals filed by King Airways against its former pilots, including Captain Pritam Singh, Manjit Singh and ND Kathuria.

The airline had chal...