NEW DELHI — Air India said Wednesday a court has ruled that a strike by some of its pilots is illegal and ordered them back to work.

The state-owned airline’s spokesman Prasad Rao said management sought the New Delhi High Court’s intervention after nearly 150 of its 1,500 pilots called in sick for a second day.

The pilots are protesting unpaid salaries and what they say are a lack of opportunities to train on Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets that the airline has ordered. Air India canceled three flights Wednesday from New Delhi to Singapore, Frankfurt and New York and one from Mumbai to New York. The state-owned carrier operates 50 international flights and 400 domestic flights each day. The airline sacked 10 striking pilots on Tuesday. — AP