Aloke Singh, CEO of Air India Express, revealed on Wednesday that the airline will be scaling back flights in the coming days due to many cabin crew members reporting sick just before their scheduled duties. The recent wave of sick reports has resulted in the cancellation of over 90 flights, impacting operations across the airline's network. Singh emphasised that this behaviour does not reflect the dedication of the majority of the airline's cabin crew.
Disruption explanation
Singh explained, "Since last evening, over 100 of our cabin crew colleagues have reported sick before their rostered flight duty, at the last minute, severely disrupting our operations. Because this action was mostly by colleagues assigned L1 role, the impact was disproportionate, disrupting 90+ flights even though other colleagues reported for duty."
Curtailing schedules
Due to the disruptions, the airline has been forced to curtail schedules over the next few days to manage crew shortages and recover schedules. Singh reiterated that the actions of a few do not represent the commitment of the majority of the airline's cabin crew members.
Allegation of mismanagement
According to a report by the news agency PTI, a union representing a segment of Air India Express cabin crew alleged last month that the airline is facing mismanagement issues and lacks equality in staff treatment.
Union's claims
The Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), representing approximately 300 cabin crew members, primarily seniors, claimed that mismanagement has adversely impacted employee morale.
Passenger complaints
Several passengers voiced their grievances on social media regarding sudden flight cancellations.
Summer schedule operations
The airline is scheduled to operate 360 flights daily as part of its summer schedule, which commenced in late March.
Response from Air India Express
In response to a passenger's complaint about flight cancellation on social media platform X, Air India Express apologised and attributed the cancellation to "operational reasons." The airline offered affected passengers the option to reschedule their flights within the next seven days or request a full refund through their chat bot Tia.
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