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The Union Civil Ministry has sought a report from Air India Express regarding the cancellation of its flights and urged them to promptly address the issues. In addition, the airline has also been advised to ensure that passenger facilities comply with DGCA norms. This comes after the airline cancelled more than 80 international and domestic flights from Tuesday night until Wednesday morning due to a mass ‘sick leave’ taken by senior crew members of the airline.
Air India Express to operate 360 flights daily
The airline, which is in the process of merging AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) with itself, is to operate 360 daily flights during the summer schedule that started in the last week of March. An Air India Express spokesperson stated that the airline is actively engaging with cabin crew members to comprehend the reasons behind their sick reports, and they also extended apologies for the flight disruptions.
Discontent brewing among cabin crew members
According to reports, discontent has been simmering among a faction of cabin crew members at the low-cost carrier, particularly since the initiation of the merger process. More than 200 cabin crew members have reported sick in protest against purported mismanagement within the airline, news agency PTI reported citing sources. The cabin crew shortage has resulted in the cancellation of at least more than 80 flights since Tuesday night and scores of flights were delayed.
Union alleges mismanagement and inequality at airline
Late last month, 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 treatment of the staff. Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), a registered union, which claims to represent around 300 cabin crew members had also alleged that mismanagement of the affairs has affected the morale of the employees.
It should be mentioned here that the 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 per cent 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. On Wednesday, many passengers took to social media complaining about the sudden cancellation of flights by Air India Express.
(With inputs from agencies)
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