As Air India Express prepares to cancel 74 flights due to an ongoing protest by a portion of its cabin crew, Air India has stepped in to assist customers who are experiencing inconveniences, claiming that it will operate flights on 20 of its subsidiary’s routes.
“We will operate 283 flights today. We have deployed all resources, and Air India will assist us by flying on 20 of our routes. However, 85 of our flights have been cancelled, and we recommend our passengers who have booked flights with us to verify if their flight is affected by the interruption before arriving at the airport,” the airline stated in a press statement on Thursday.
“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 airindiaexpress.com,” it stated.
As previously reported by The Indian Express, the airline took stern disciplinary action on Wednesday and sent termination letters to several of the disgruntled staff. Following the unprecedented sick leave of over a hundred senior cabin personnel, the Tata-group airline laid off around 25 senior cabin crew members.
The strongly worded termination letters were issued to staff late Wednesday, indicating that the move indicated a premeditated and concerted absence from work without a justified reason, according to The Indian Express. The letter accused the agitators of creating reputational damage and financial loss to the company.
The remaining crew members have been given a deadline of 4 PM today to commence work.
However, it is unclear whether the airline would reinstate the terminated cabin personnel. Senior management of Air India Express continues to interact with agitated staff in an effort to persuade them not to prolong their sick leave.
The airline, which is a subsidiary of Tata Group’s Air India, is experiencing network-wide problems after several cabin crew members reported ill in apparent protest of changes in the carrier’s human resources (HR) policy.
The Air India Express Employees, a union representing 300 employees, had complained to Tata Group and Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran that the airline was mishandled and that there was a “lack of equality in treatment”.
Tata Group is forging on with its plans to integrate its two airlines, Air India Express and AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India), and has increased cabin crew recruiting to support its growth.
The airline typically conducts over 350 daily flights and has the potential to increase to over 400 daily flights if necessary.
