Crew on mass ‘sick leave’, 90 Air India Express flights grounded

New Delhi/Kochi, May 8

Air India Express cancelled more than 90 flights since Tuesday night with a section of senior cabin crew reporting sick to protest against alleged mismanagement at the Tata Group-owned airline, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at various airports in the country.

• Editorial: Air India mess

Scores of flights have also been delayed and the airline’s passengers, mostly scheduled to travel to Gulf nations, protested at airports in Kerala against flight cancellations as many of them were informed only after the security checks.

Cabin Crew Union flags ‘inequality’

A union representing a section of the AI Express cabin crew last month alleged lack of equality in staff treatment

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The Civil Aviation Ministry on Wednesday sought a report from Air India Express on the flight cancellations. Aloke Singh, CEO, Air India Express, said the airline would curtail flights for the next few days to cope with non-availability of crew members. — PTI

‘Look into employees’ genuine demands’

• In a letter to Air India Express CEO and Air India CEO on May 4, Regional Labour Commissioner had flagged “blatant violations” of labour laws & directed a panel be set up to look into genuine demands of staff
• Labour Commissioner Ashok Perumalla said concerns of Air India union were genuine and the management had so far not sent any responsible decision-maker in meetings