Air India Express fires 30 employees over mass sick leave
A day after roughly 300 employees of the airline called in sick and turned off their phones, causing significant flight disruptions, Air India Express fired at least 30 cabin crew members. There will probably be more job terminations in the future.
According to sources, the management has threatened to take action if the workers don’t report to work by 4 p.m. today. Additionally, the airline declared that it would be running 292 flights today, with Air India running 20 of the routes that are part of Air India Express.
According to sources, the workers have been demonstrating against the new terms of employment. According to the sources, the crew has complained about unequal treatment of the workforce.
According to the sources, they have stated that some employees have been given lower job roles even if they have passed interviews for more senior roles.
The 30-odd crew members received a termination letter stating that the widespread absence “clearly points to a pre-meditated and concerted abstention from work without any justifiable reason”
Also read: Hindu population dip by 7.8%, Muslims increase by 43% in India: PM-EAC study
The team has also brought attention to a few changes in their benefits package. These changes are occurring along with the airline’s merger with AIX Connect, formerly known as AirAsia India.
Over 80 flights were cancelled after crew went on ‘mass sick leave’
Following the widespread “sick leave” taken by senior crew members of Air India Express, more than 80 of the airline’s domestic and international flights were canceled yesterday.
The development resulted from multiple cabin crew members reporting unwell since Monday evening. Due to a shortage of cabin crew, “scores of flights” were canceled at several airports, including Bangalore, Calicut, and Kochi.
Releasing a statement, the Air India Express said, “A section of our cabin crew has reported sick 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 minimise any inconvenience caused.”
Also read: 5,457 illegal immigrants detected in Manipur, says CM N Biren Singh
Not quite a month has passed since the full-service carrier Vistara was disrupted by pilot protests over a variety of issues, including modifications to their pay packages and flight rostering. The Air India Express crisis represents new problems for the Tata company.
Air India Express has stated in a statement that it is doing “every possible effort to minimise the inconvenience caused to our guests by this unexpected situation”. The termination letter issued to the 30-odd crew members says that the mass leave “clearly points to a pre-meditated and concerted abstention from work without any justifiable reason”.
