Air India Express operations disrupted as crew reports sick

In a setback to Air India Express, flight operations at the airline have been disrupted since last night as a section of cabin crew reported sick to duty at the last minute.

So far, more than 70 flights have been cancelled by the airline.

“A section of our cabin crew has reported sick at the last minute, starting last night, resulting in flight delays and cancellations,” an Air India Express spokesperson told Mint. “While we are engaging with the crew to understand the reasons behind these occurrences, our teams are actively addressing this issue to minimise any inconvenience caused to our guests as a result.”

The spokesperson added that the customers impacted by cancellations will be offered a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date.

“Guests flying with us today are requested to check if their flight is affected, before heading to the airport,” he added.

Air India Express was acquired by the Tata Group, along with Air India, in a government-led strategic divestment programme in January 2022. The airline is currently undergoing an integration exercise with AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India.

As per the latest data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, AIX Connect has a 5.8% stake in the domestic aviation market and independently, Air India Express is the third largest Indian carrier for the international traffic to and from India.

For October-December 2023, the airline held a stake of 7.1% and carried 1.2 million passengers. While it is a major carrier for the Middle East region, it is also expected to expand its network under the broader group synergy exercise with its parent company Air India.

The company currently has a fleet size of 73 aircraft including 28 Airbus A320. It is set to increase the fleet substantially over the next one year as the airline plans to induct at least 50 out of the 190-Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that Air India ordered in February 2023.

Under a planned delivery programme, the airline is inducting an aircraft every 10 days and expects to complete the induction of 50 aircraft by the end of 2024 and a total fleet size of 180 aircraft by the end of five years.

The Tata Group-backed airline, which plans to double its market share in domestic and short-haul international air travel segments over five years, will increase its frequencies to international and domestic destinations such as Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Jeddah, Sharjah, Ayodhya, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kannur, Kolkata, Kochi, Mangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, and Varanasi.