The civil aviation authorities are looking into the incident wherein 70 national and domestic flights of Air India Express had to be cancelled from Tuesday night till Wednesday morning after a section of the cabin crew went on a mass 'sick leave'.
The crisis was triggered after several cabin crew members started reporting sick on Monday evening. Several flights had to be cancelled at various airports, including at Kochi, Calicut and Bangalore airports.
Many passengers took to social media on Wednesday to complain about the sudden cancellation of flights after which the Air India Express came out with a statement, apologising to the passengers for the disruptions and cancellations.
"A section of our cabin crew has 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 caused to our guests as a result. We sincerely apologise to our guests for this unexpected disruption and emphasise that this situation does not reflect the standard of service we strive to provide," a report by ANI quoted an Air India Express spokesperson.
The company added that guests impacted by cancellations will be offered a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date. It also instructed the passengers flying on Wednesday to check if their flight was affected before heading to the airport.
The mass 'sick leave' comes amid a union representing a section of the Air India Express cabin crew raising allegations that the airline was being mismanaged. According to the Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), a registered union, this has affected the morale of the employees. The AIXEU, which claims to represent around 300 cabin crew members, mostly seniors, also alleged that there was a lack of equality in the treatment of the staff.
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 of merger of AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, with itself.
Protests at Kerala airports
Many passengers raised their voices after their flights were unexpectedly cancelled. In Kerala, Kochi, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram airports witnessed protests by irate passengers, most of whom were travelling to the Gulf nations.
According to the passengers, they were informed about the flight cancellations after they completed their security checks. Some claimed the sudden change in plans would derail their jobs as work visas were about to expire. "What would be the point in me travelling on May 10? If I do not reach there before May 9, I might even lose my job," a passenger told reporters.
Another passenger said she had been waiting at the airport since Tuesday night. Her flight was scheduled to leave for Sharjah, but no accommodation or other facilities were provided to them by the airline.
Air India Express has offered a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date, but passengers are not happy with that.
One man who had to travel urgently to Sharjah on Tuesday night from Kannur, did not wait to cancel the ticket and instead quickly bought a ticket on Indigo for Rs 37,000. "There is a fight going on at the ticket counter. So, I quickly bought a ticket on Indigo for Rs 37,000," he told PTI.
