25 Crew Members of Air India Express Receive Termination Letters, over 70 Flights Cancelled

Moneylife Digital Team 09 May 2024

Economy & Nation

Air India Express continues to face the issue of flight cancellation due to mass sick leave by its cabin crew members. On Thursday, it has reportedly cancelled over 70 flights. Meanwhile, taking a stern view, the management of the Tata Group-owned airline has issued termination letters to around 25 cabin crew members who reported sick, say reports.

Air India Express has also given an ultimatum to the remaining cabin crew members reporting sick to join back duty by 4pm on Thursday or face termination, a report from Mint says.

Taking note of this, the Union ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) has called for a report from Air India Express regarding cancellation of flights, while asking the carrier to resolve issues promptly.

In a note to employees, Aloke Singh, chief executive officer (CEO) of Air India Express says, "If there are concerns that need to be addressed, the company leadership is available for any discussions. All communication channels remain open - departmental townhalls, monthly all-hands townhall, besides formal and informal reach out to leaders."

The carrier has scheduled a townhall meeting on Thursday.

The Tata Group-owned 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.

Just last month, pilots at Vistara, a joint venture of Tata Sons Pvt Ltd and Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA), sought sick leave en masse, leading to severe operational issues at the Tata Group-owned airline. This was prompted by a revised salary system the airline was trying to implement ahead of its merger with Air India, says a report from NDTV Profit quoting two people with knowledge of the matter.

Sources told IANS that Vistara pilots collectively requested sick leave over the introduction of a revised salary structure by the airline which is seen as a prelude to its merger with Air India. Under the terms of the new contract, which came into effect in April, Vistara pilots will now be paid a fixed salary for 40 hours instead of the previous 70 hours.

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