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Air India Express sacks 25 crew members, sends ultimatum to others to join work by 4 pm or face a similar fate
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
Air India Express has cancelled at least 60 flights for Thursday due to the non-availability of cabin crew. There are around 1,400 cabin crew, including about 500 at the senior level, at the airline.
Air India Express has issued termination letter to 25 cabin crew members, who allegedly instigated the crew members to report sick, resulting in the cancellation of 90 flights on Wednesday, May 9.
The Tata Group-owned airline has given an ultimatum to the remaining cabin crew members reporting sick to join back duty by 4 pm on Thursday or face termination, sources told CNBC-TV18.
Meanwhile, the Chief Labour Commissioner has summoned a meeting with the Air India Express union and CEO today following the termination of crew members on May 8 night.
CEO Aloke Singh is likely to hold a townhall with cabin crew members today.
Air India Express has cancelled 85 flights for Thursday due to the non-availability of cabin crew. The airline is operating 283 flights today. Also, Air India is running 20 flights on its route.
“Air India Express is making every possible effort to minimise the inconvenience caused to our guests by this unexpected situation. However, 85 of our flights stand cancelled and we urge our guests booked to fly with us to check if their flight is affected by the disruption before heading to the airport. If their flight is cancelled, or delayed beyond 3 hours, they may opt for a full refund or reschedule to a later date without any fees on Tia on WhatsApp (+91 6360012345) or on http://airindiaexpress.com,” said Air India Express spokesperson.
There are around 1,400 cabin crew, including about 500 at the senior level, at the airline. Over 200 cabin crew started reporting sick from Tuesday night to protest against alleged mismanagement at the airline that caused the cancellation of over 90 flights.
Discontent has been brewing among a section of the cabin crew at the low-cost carrier for some time now, especially after the start of the process to merge AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, with itself. In late April, a union representing a section of the Air India Express cabin crew alleged that the airline is being mismanaged and there is a lack of equality in the staff treatment.
The latest development at Air India Express comes a month after Tata Group full-service carrier Vistara witnessed pilot woes, forcing it to temporarily cut down capacity by 10%, or 25-30 flights daily. As part of consolidating its airline business, Tata Group is merging Air India Express and AIX Connect, as well as Vistara with Air India.
Last month, the Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), a registered union, which claims to represent around 300 cabin crew members, mostly seniors, had also alleged that mismanagement of the affairs has affected the morale of the employees.
With inputs from PTI
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