Mass sick leave of Air India Express crew members led to the cancellation of at least 86 flights, Hindustan Times reported on May 8.
According to the publication, hundreds of crew members went on sick leave en masse in protest against the actions of Tata management in connection with the merger of Air India Express with AirAsia India.
“Some of our crew members have become ill at the last minute since last night, resulting in flight delays and cancellations.”said an Air India Express spokesperson. For passengers affected by flight cancellations, the airline representative promised a full refund of the cost of tickets or a free transfer of the flight to another date.
An airline employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the publication that 327 high-level flight attendants on the morning of May 8 called in sick several hours before departure and then turned off their phones so they could not be contacted. contacted.
According to the same employee, flight attendants are protesting against the proposed merger with AirAsia India, which could lead to many of them losing their jobs.
Air India Express operates over 2,500 weekly flights to 31 domestic and 14 international airports and has a fleet of over 70 aircraft. In total, the airline employs 2,600 flight attendants.
The publication notes that this is the second time in a month that the Tata Group-owned airline has experienced flight disruptions due to lack of crew. In the first week of April, Vistara airline was also forced to cancel flights due to crew unavailability and eventually shut down operations after a large number of pilots went on sick leave.
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.