Air India Express staff end strike after flight disruptions

MUMBAI: Air India’s budget subsidiary said its cabin crew had ended a strike that caused two days of severe disruptions to its flight schedule and stranded passengers at airports across the country. The airline was taken over by Indian conglomerate Tata Group in 2022 after a government effort to privatize the heavily indebted carrier. Media reports linked the sudden industrial action to simmering staff discontent over new policies on hiring and promotion imposed by its new ownership.

Dozens of Air India Express cabin crew staff called in sick at the last minute from Tuesday night, forcing the airline to delay or cancel at least 175 flights in the following days. In a statement issued Thursday night, an airline spokesperson said the airline was working to “swiftly restore” its schedule after a successful meeting with staff. “We are pleased with the progress we made at the conciliation meeting and welcome our cabin crew colleagues back at work,” the statement said.

“We sincerely apologize to those inconvenienced by these unintended disruptions,” it added.

Indian media reports said the airline had also withdrawn termination letters issued to at least 20 striking staff. An Air India Express spokesperson said earlier Thursday that the airline had taken “appropriate steps against certain individuals”, but did not provide further details.

New Delhi airport saw chaotic scenes Wednesday after the strike began as agitated passengers waited for updates on delayed and cancelled flights, according to local media.

Air India Express said in a statement earlier that it had made “every possible effort to minimize the inconvenience caused to our guests” but had been forced to cancel 85 flights on Thursday. “We urge our guests booked to fly with us to check if their flight is affected by the disruption before heading to the airport,” it added.

More than 90 other flights had been “disrupted” since Tuesday by the resulting staff shortages, the airline said in a separate statement on Wednesday, without clarifying whether they had been delayed or cancelled. Chief executive Aloke Singh said Wednesday that the airline had been forced to curtail its flight schedules over the coming days. “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,” Singh said. “This act is certainly not representative of the 2,000-odd cabin crew colleagues in the company who continue to respond to the call of duty.” — AFP