New Delhi: In a letter written by the cabin crew members of the Air India Express Limited to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the employees alleged that they are been provided with bare minimum rest period and their rest being interrupted is leading to fatigue factor and thus compromising on the safety of the passengers while on duty.
More than 300 employees from various bases of the country have addressed their concerns with the DGCA.
The shocking revelation that is being highlighted in the complaint made by the employees raise serious questions as far as the safety and security of the passengers are concerned.
“Off late, cabin crew fraternity is flying with INTERRUPTED rest due to twin sharing HOTAC (Hotel Accommodation) recently introduced in the Air India Express Limited. The matter was brought to the notice of the concerned department personnel in Air India Express Limited, but since there is no solution from their end, we are escalating the matter to your end”, read the letter that was send to the DGCA.
The cabin crew employees pointed out that all the accidents or incidents in the past caused in the Air India Express was either due to fatigue or the improper rest.
The DGCA guidelines clearly specify that the crew who should get uninterrupted rest for 12 hours at a stretch before operating the flight. However, employees have alleged that the guideline has been blatantly violated.
The matter is already under the purview of the Regional Labor Commissioner in Delhi and the RLC have issued a show-cause notice to the CEO of the Air India Express dated 20-11-23.
A section of employees in the Air India Express is planning to relieve themselves from work and protest against the torture by the management in the coming days.
“When we approached the regional labor commissioner, instead of calling a member from the top management, they are sending representatives who cannot take decision. We suspect this as a move to delay justice for us and thus forcing us to quit the job. We want our country labor laws to be followed for the cabin crew members who are working day in and out to ensure the smooth functioning of the airlines”, said an Ex-employee who had to resign following indifferences with the management.
Cabin Crew employees allege that unlike other airlines, the AI express crew members need to stay for one week on a sharing-basis. Moreover, one of the major concern shared by the cabin crew members is that they have been offered substandard accommodation facilities while on duty.
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