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Air India Express crisis: 'Sick' crew members laid off, flight disruptions continue | Top developments
The mass leaves undertaken by senior Air India Express crew members have forced the airline to curtail its operations until May 13.
Air India Express has started laying off cabin crew members for Wednesday's “sick leaves” which forced the airline to cancel at least 86 flights on the day, and curtail its operations until May 13.
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The employees protest is against Tata Group management – the business conglomerate owns Air India of which Air India Express is a fully-owned subsidiary – for merging AI Express with AIX Connect (previously AirAsia India).
Here are the latest developments:
(1.) The termination letter was sent last night to at least 25 employees who participated in the mass leaves. As many as 327 senior crew members had reported being “sick” a few hours before their flights and switched off their phones.
(2.) The letter said that the “overwhelming” number of participating crew members, “clearly points to a pre-meditated and concerted abstention from work without any justifiable reason.” Not being available for work is a violation of the employee contract, it stated.
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(3.) The layoffs are effective immediately and from the date of the letter, the communication noted.
(4.) The flight cancellations continue on Thursday as well, with more than 70 services affected. On Wednesday, Aloke Singh, CEO, Air India Express, remarked that the strike was not representative of the “2,000-odd cabin crew colleagues who continue to respond to the call of duty.”
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(5.) Air India Express, a low-cost carrier, is the second Tata Group airline to have seen employee protest in recent months. Last month, Vistara, its joint venture with Singapore Airlines too cancelled flights due to crew unavailability. Vistara was later forced to scale down operations after pilots called in sick en masse.
