Air India Express has cancelled over 80 international and domestic flights from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning due to a “mass sick leave” by senior crew members, according to the airline’s spokesperson.
Recently, Vistara Airlines also faced a similar issue where many pilots of Vistara reported being sick, causing disruptions to the day-to-day functioning of the airline.
The Air India spokesperson confirmed the development. He said that a section of the airline’s cabin crew got sick at the last minute on May 7 (Tuesday) night, which caused flight operations to be delayed or cancelled.
According to media reports, the crew at Air India Express is protesting against a new employment term and the management is currently attempting to communicate with them.
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“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 minimize any inconvenience caused to our guests as a result,” Air India Express spokesperson said in a statement quoted by multiple media reports on Wednesday.
The spokesperson also said that guests who were affected by the cancellations would be refunded or given a complimentary reschedule.
The airline also expressed regret for the delay, saying, we want to assure you that this isn’t how we usually serve our guests, and we’re truly sorry for any inconvenience caused by this unexpected issue.
Also Read : Air India Express crisis: Airline fires 30 employees over mass sick leave
Several disappointed passengers posted on X claiming that they had arrived at the airport and heard the news about their flights being delayed or cancelled.
In response to this, Air India replied to one of the posts on X, “We’re sorry for the delay. The flight is delayed due to some operational reasons and our team is working diligently to minimize the inconvenience caused. However, we are alerting our ground team to provide the necessary assistance and the latest updates.”
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