New Delhi: Air India Express will curtail its flight schedule amid the ongoing uncertainty over staff availability after the airline was forced to cancel over 90 flights on Wednesday after staffers reported sick and failed to turn up for their duty, CEO Aloke Singh said in an internal communication to staffers.
Over 10o Air India Express crew reported sick on Wednesday “at the last minute, severely disrupting our operations”, , said Singh.
“We had to do this to cope with the non-availability of crew and to recover schedules,” he added. The Tata Group-owned airline operated nearly 360 flights per day during the summer schedule which started in March 2024.
Air India Express cancelled over 90 flights on Wednesday citing en masse sick leaves opted by nearly 100 cabin crew. The move was reportedly a protest move by cabin crew who were unhappy about not being treated at par with their colleagues in other airlines operated by the Tata Group.
The Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU) stated that mediation discussions between the union and the airline were not fruitful. Their demands were not heard by the Central Labour Commissioner either, the union said.
AIXEU flagged issues related to: