 "Air India Express")
Air India Express on Thursday announced that it has cancelled 85 of its flights today and was making "every possible effort to minimise the inconvenience".
In a statement, the airline's spokesperson said that it would be operating 283 flights today and Air India would support it on some routes.
"We have mobilised all resources and Air India will support us by operating on 20 of our routes," they said.
"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."
Refund and rescheduling options for passengers
The airline also said that if a passenger's flight is cancelled or delayed beyond 3 hours, they may opt for a full refund or reschedule to a later date without any fees.
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This can be done on WhatsApp (+91 6360012345) or on the airline's website.
"While we will continue to engage with our cabin crew colleagues with a commitment to address any concern, we are taking appropriate steps against certain individuals as their actions have caused grave inconvenience to thousands of our guests," they said.
Termination of Air India Express employees
This comes after the airline late on Wednesday removed around 30 employees for going on a mass "sick leave".
The airline has also given other members an ultimatum to either return to work by 4 pm on Thursday or face termination.
Part of the termination letter began circulating on social media on Wednesday evening, which read, "You informed the scheduling team at the last moment that you were unwell and, accordingly, reporting sick. It is noted that at or around the same time, an overwhelming number of other cabin crew members have also reported sick and have not reported for their duties. This clearly points to a pre-meditated and concerted abstention from work without any justifiable reason."
"Your act of reporting sick for work amounts to 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 are applicable to you," the company said in the termination letter.
100+ Air India Express flights cancelled
Air India Express cancelled more than 90 flights on Wednesday due to the unavailability of cabin crew, significantly disrupting operations. On Thursday, another 85 flights were cancelled by the airlines. Due to lack of staff, many more cancellations are likely to follow.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the airlines apologised for the cancellations and urged passengers to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport.
#ImportantUpdate
— Air India Express (@AirIndiaX) May 8, 2024
We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused by unprecedented flight delays and cancellations. While we are working hard to minimise disruptions, please check your flight status before heading to the airport. If your flight is impacted, please reach out… pic.twitter.com/JySbD3trb0
Civil aviation ministry intervenes
The civil aviation ministry on Wednesday sought a report from Air India Express on the flight cancellations and asked the airline to resolve the issues swiftly.
Congress leader K C Venugopal also penned a letter to the ministry after the flight cancellations left several domestic and international travellers stranded, especially those travelling to West Asia.
"I am writing to bring to your kind attention the urgent matter of the ongoing strike by Air India Express crew members, which has resulted in significant disruptions to flight operations and left hundreds of passengers stranded across various airports," he said in his letter to the minister.
Vistara flight cancellations & pilot fatigue
Last month, the Tata Group faced similar issues with Vistara pilots taking last-minute sick leaves, leading to the airlines cutting down flights by 10 per cent. Pilots claimed burnout was the cause of the sick leave due to a new scheduling system implemented by the airlines.
As earlier reported by Business Standard, pilots from Air India had also joined Vistara in expressing concerns of being overworked and underpaid.
"The concerns expressed by the Vistara pilots are not isolated incidents but rather indicative of systemic issues across Tata's aviation business," The Indian Pilots' Guild, which represents crew at Air India Ltd, wrote in a letter to Tata Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran at the time.
Vistara is slated to complete its merger process with Air India by the end of the year. Air India Express is also in the process of merging with Air Asia.
