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Air India flights hit with delays at Mumbai airport amid ground staff strike
Air India said flight operations had been affected due to industrial action by employees of a third-party ground handling agency at Mumbai airport.
Several flights of Air India and Air India Express were delayed to and from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Monday due to a protest by the employees of government-run ground handling agency AI Airport Services Limited (AIASL) over wage revision and other demands.
Notably, AIASL is responsible for providing ground handling support for Air India Group carriers, including Air India and Air India Express, as well as several international airlines operating at Mumbai airport and at other airports across the country.
Several flights delayed to and from Mumbai
Air India did not share how many of its services were affected because of the protest by AIASL employees.
According to a report by The Indian Express, at least 15 departing flights from Mumbai airport were delayed, and disruptions ranged from 90 minutes to two hours.
AIASL serves around 80 airlines, including international carriers such as Flydubai, Saudia, Oman Air and Salam Air, apart from domestic operators, across 84 airports in India. The organisation has a workforce of around 20,000 employees.
The company operates about 650 flights every day across these airports, handling 35 per cent of international operations and 65 per cent of domestic services.
What Air India, AIASL said on the protest
In a statement, Air India said flight operations had been affected due to industrial action by employees of a third-party ground handling agency at Mumbai airport.
"Our airport teams are working closely with all stakeholders to minimise inconvenience to guests and normal operations at the earliest," the airline said.
AIASL said work resumed after employees received assurances from management that their demands would be reviewed.
"There was a silent Morcha by a certain section of employees, and we requested them to give us in writing (their demands) for discussion. They have been kind enough to go back and join back the work," said Rambabu, CEO at AIASL.
He added that the company would examine all the requests submitted by protesting employees.
"They have given us a letter. We have told them that we will go through the same in terms of the policies," Rambabu said.
With inputs from PTI
