Air India Express to curtail flights after cabin crew call in sick en masse

Tata Group-owned Air India Express announced curtailing of flight services until May 13 after senior crew members reported sick without notice, leading to the cancellation of over 100 domestic and international flights since Tuesday night, affecting around 15,000 passengers. Airline CEO Aloke Singh said "the disruptions have cascaded across the network, forcing us to curtail the schedules over the next few days".

In a statement to airline staff on Wednesday, the CEO said, "Since last evening, over 100 of our cabin crew colleagues have reported sick prior to their rostered flight duty, at the last minute, severely disrupting our operations. Because this action was mostly by colleagues assigned L1 role, the impact was disproportionate even though other colleagues reported for duty."

Regarding the move to curtail flight services, he said, "We had to do this to cope with the non-availability of crew and to recover schedules", ANI news agency reported.

"This act (mass sick leave) is certainly not representative of the 2,000-odd cabin crew colleagues in the company who continue to respond to the call of duty and serve our guests with dedication and pride. I am thankful to all who are standing by the airline in this hour of crisis," Singh said, adding that all means of communication remain open to airline staff for discussions regarding their concerns.

The flight cancellations occurred from Tuesday night to Wednesday. Chaos erupted at a few airports as passengers were outraged that they were not informed beforehand.

At least 16 Air India Express flights were cancelled in Delhi on Wednesday, while disruptions were also reported in Bengaluru as well. In Kerala, the airline cancelled multiple flights from all four airports in the state -- Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kannur and Kozhikode.

On Wednesday evening, the airline announced that it was accommodating alternative flights for the affected passengers. It also released a revised flight schedule and has asked people to check if their flight is affected by the disruption before heading to the airport.

"We are also accommodating affected guests on alternative flights, including those of Group airlines, to ensure they reach their destinations at the earliest," the airline said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has sought a detailed report from the airline over flight delays and cancellation. It asked Air India Express to take swift action to immediately address the crisis.

The Ministry further advised the airline to ensure facilities for passengers as per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation norms.

Airline sources told India Today TV on Wednesday that they suspected the crew members to be unhappy with the performance-linked incentive component of salaries after the revamp and restructuring.

The airline, which is in the process of merging AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) with itself, operates around 360 daily flights as part of the summer schedule that started in the last week of March.

However, discontent has been brewing among cabin crew members at the low-cost carrier for a while, especially after the start of the merger process.

In December 2023, Air India Express, was issued a show cause notice by the Union Labour Ministry for alleged violations of regulations related to disputes between the airline's management and cabin crew members.

The notice was linked to concerns raised by cabin crew members, including issues with room sharing during layovers.

(Inputs by ANI)