Air India Express fires cabin crew members over 'premeditated' sick leave

After around 91 flights were cancelled since Tuesday, as over 100 cabin crew members did not report for duty as a form of protest, Air India Express reportedly issued termination letters on Wednesday to several of the agitating employees.

The protesting cabin crew members had reported being sick, leading to the cancellation and delay of flights and leaving hundreds of passengers stranded across various airports since Tuesday night.

In the termination letter, sent to one of the employees, the airline stated that the cabin crew members reporting sick at "around the same time... clearly points to a premeditated and concerted abstention from work without any justifiable reason."

In the termination letter, which was widely shared on social media, the Tata-owned airline added, "Your act of reporting sick for work amounts to a concerted action with a common understanding, to not operate the flight and to disrupt the services of the company. This is not only in violation of the applicable laws but also violates the Air India Express Limited Employees' Service Rules as applicable to you."

According to Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh, more than 100 cabin crew members had reported sick just before their rostered flight duty since Tuesday night.

Notably, Air India Express and AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India), both subsidiaries of the Tata Group-owned Air India, are in the process of merging to create a unified low-cost airline. However, the cabin crew members of Air India Express are protesting against the alleged “inequality” in their treatment compared to their counterparts at AIX Connect, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Last month, Vistara, which is also merging with Air India, had to cancel 10 per cent of its flights amidst dissatisfaction from pilots regarding tight duty schedules and a new salary package as part of the airline's merger into Air India.