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Air India Express was forced to cancel flights on Wednesday after several crew members of the airline went on mass ‘sick leaves’, two officials aware of the matter confirmed.
They said that the crew reported sick in protest against the Tata management over the merger of AIX Connect (AirAsia India with Air India Express).
“A section of our cabin crew reported sick at the last minute, starting last night, resulting in flight delays and cancellations. While we are engaging with the crew to understand the reasons behind these occurrences, our teams are actively addressing this issue to minimise any inconvenience to our guests,” an Air India Express spokesperson said.
Offering refunds for the affected flights, the spokesperson said, “…Guests impacted by cancellations will be offered a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date. Guests flying with us today are requested to check if their flight is affected, before heading to the airport.”
“Tensions were brimming for a week now and the situation worsened last night. The cabin crew are protesting the alleged mismanagement of the airline during the merger process which is feared to cost jobs of a significant number of staff,” one of the officials said.
This is the second time in about a month that a Tata Group owned airline is facing flight disruptions (Vistara too had to cancel flights due to crew unavailability in the first week of April).
“This has happened because of the massive mistreatment of employees of Air India Express by the merged entity. All the positions have gone to the AirAsia India people and the HR is controlled by the former HR of AirAsia. Air India Express staff have been overlooked in all kinds of internal jobs, promotions, etc. There is a huge dissatisfaction and discrimination here and they feel it badly. They have written to everyone, including the HR, CEO, COO, chairman of Tata and to the aviation minister,” an airline official said.
As per the aircraft tracking website Planespotters, Air India Express has a fleet of 48 aircraft in service – 44 Boeing 737s and four Airbus A320s. As per the summer schedule announced by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the airline in March said that Air India Express will offer over 360 daily departures during the summer schedule. It connects various places, including Delhi, Bangalore, Kochi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram.
“There are major cancellations at all airports in southern India,” a second official said.
Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), a registered body that consists of senior cabin crew members, alleged that mismanagement by the airline owner has affected the morale of the employees.
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