Air India Express cancels 85 flights, issues ultimatum to striking employees

“We will be operating 283 flights today. We have mobilised all resources and Air India will support us by operating on 20 of our routes. However, 85 of our flights stand cancelled and we urge our guests booked to fly with us to check if their flight is affected by the disruption before heading to the airport,” said the airline in the statement.

In case their flight is cancelled or delayed beyond three hours, the carrier said the passengers may opt for a full refund or reschedule to a later date without any fees. The number of cancelled flights at 85 translates to over 20 per cent of the airline’s scheduled daily flights.

Along with flight cancellations, Tata Group’s budget carrier is all set to take Air India’s help to allow continuation of operations for its other routes.

“Air India will support us by operation on 20 of our routes. Making every possible effort to minimise the inconvenience,” the official statement said.

Terminations and ultimatum:
Air India Express has issued termination letters to around 30 cabin crew members who reported sick that led to the cancellation of more than 90 flights, airline sources said on Thursday.

The Tata Group-owned airline has also given an ultimatum to the remaining cabin crew members reporting sick to join back duty by 4 pm on Thursday or face termination, the sources said to news agency PTI.

In response to the mass sick leave, Air India Express CEO, Aloke Singh, announced plans to reduce flight operations in the coming days.

Singh said that since Tuesday evening, “over 100 of cabin crew colleagues have reported sick prior to their rostered flight duty, at the last minute, severely disrupting our operations. Because this action was mostly by colleagues assigned L1 role, the impact was disproportionate, disrupting 90+ flights even though other colleagues reported for duty.”

He emphasised that the behaviour of a few does not represent the dedication of the majority of the airline’s cabin crew, who continue to serve guests with dedication and pride.

“This act is certainly not representative of the 2,000-odd cabin crew colleagues in the company who continue to respond to the call of duty and serve our guests with dedication and pride. I am thankful to all who are standing by the airline in this hour of crisis,” he said in a statement.

Singh invited staff for discussions to address any concerns they may have and assured that all communication channels are open.

The cancellations and delays prompted the Ministry of Civil Aviation to seek a detailed report from Air India Express. The ministry urged the airline to promptly resolve the issues and ensure that passengers are provided with facilities as per DGCA norms.

Sources within the ministry revealed that cancellations and delays began on Tuesday night, continuing into Wednesday morning, which led to flight operations being curtailed due to a sudden shortage of crew members. Some senior crew members allegedly switched off their mobile phones just before flight operations, citing health issues.

(with agency inputs)