Eight pilots must pay a total of 12.45 million yuan to an airline company in compensation for job-hopping, the Yangzi Evening News reported on Wednesday.

It takes time and money to train a pilot. It takes almost 10 years for a pilot to be promoted to the position of a captain. [Xinhua/file]

The eight pilots worked for an airline in East China's Jiangsu Province and resigned their contracts in November. Their company brought them to court after the two sides failed to reach an agreement. The company demanded each pilot should give a compensation of 2.1 million yuan for breaking the contract.

The Jiangning District court ruled on the first trail that the eight pilots should pay compensation ranging from 1.07 million to 1.86 million yuan to their employer.

A pilot surnamed Meng was ordered to pay 1.6 million. He told the Yangzi Evening News that he had no idea how the figure of 1.6 million came about.

"I think it is still quite a large amount for me," Meng said.

Meng told the newspaper that he would consult with his lawyer before deciding whether he would make an appeal.

The labor dispute between airlines and pilots has been in the spotlight recently. Six pilots from China Eastern Airlines resorted to a hunger strike in June after the airline's general manager refused to meet them to discuss a dispute over their resignations.

In June last year, China's aviation industry regulator, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) stipulated that a pilot should pay up to 2.1 million yuan in compensation to their company for the investment in training when he wants to quit.

However, with the growth of both State-owned and private airlines, the drain of pilots has started to worry airlines. A lack of qualified pilots in China has made them badly-needed human resources.

It takes time and money to train a pilot. It takes almost 10 years for a pilot to be promoted to the position of a captain.

It is estimated that at least 6,000 pilots will have to be trained in the coming decade to meet increasing demand.