Kerala woman failed to meet husband before his death after cancellations of Air India Express flight to Oman

A 40-year-old Kerala man, whose wife’s attempts to visit him in Oman was disrupted twice due to the flash strike by Air India Express (AIE) employees last week, passed away after being hospitalised for cardiac ailments on Monday, the family said.

Amrita C, 24, was unable to travel to Muscat in Oman on May 8, where her husband Nambi Rajesh was admitted to the ICU of a private hospital following cardiac issues, after her 8.30 am AIE flight from Thiruvananthapuram was cancelled due to shortage of cabin crew members. Subsequently, after much persuasion by Amrita and her mother Chitra citing her husband’s critical condition, the airline rescheduled the ticket to the same flight the next day. However, the flight on May 9 also got cancelled due to the flash strike.

Amrita’s uncle Rajan, who drives an autorickshaw in Thiruvananthapuram, told HT over phone, “We were all extremely distraught when the flight was cancelled for the second time. Rajesh was all alone in Muscat when he was admitted to the hospital and Amrita really wanted to be with him. After that, there was no other alternative but to cancel the ticket and get the refund. We tried for tickets through other airlines too, but we didn’t get any due to massive demand.”

Afterwards, the family spoke to Rajesh on phone when his condition improved in the hospital.

Speaking to HT, Amrita said, “He sounded okay at the time and said he would fly to Kerala soon. He spent three days in the hospital ICU and got discharged on May 11. He told me that he felt fine, but my concern was that he was alone where he lived. The last I spoke to him was on Sunday night when he told me he had booked a ticket to Kerala on May 16. But he couldn’t return.”

The family said Rajesh, who was working in Muscat for the past eight years as an IT manager in a school, died on Monday as a result of a cardiac arrest. “He was alone there and so must have been mentally distraught. He had no major health concerns at all. If Amrita was able to travel to Muscat on the AIE flight, she could have helped him and he wouldn’t have died,” said Rajan.

The family said it would move legally against AIE as the airline deserved to provide them an explanation after Rajesh’s death.

“Amrita’s mother sent a text message to the airline manager at Thiruvananthapuram airport following Rajesh’s death. But there has been no response yet. We are also yet to get the refund for the cancelled ticket,” said Rajan. He said the mortal remains of Rajesh are expected to reach Thiruvananthapuram airport on Wednesday.

Officials of Air India Express were unavailable for comment.