Nearly 400 Flights Cancelled Due to Ongoing Crisis at Air India Express since May 10

Air India Express is yet again witnessing several operational challenges, which are leading to cancellations and delays with as many as 400 flights cancelled since May 10, but the airline expresses hope that there will be stabilisation in the operations in the next couple of days. Reports ETV Bharat's Saurabh Sharma

New Delhi:Air India Express, the budget carrier for the Tata Group, has been facing an operational crisis for the last two weeks and has cancelled a near about of five per cent of its flights on Friday, and six to seven per cent on Thursday while sources confirmed that as many as 400 flights have been cancelled since May 10.

Sources told ETV Bharat on the condition of anonymity that "all these cancellations are planned where the passengers have been informed well in time. The passengers have the option of taking a full refund or rescheduling." "on Thursday the cancellations percentage was six to seven per cent. As you can see, the operations are moving towards stabilisation and will be back to normal in the next couple of days", they added.

It is pertinent to note that on May 7 over 200 cabin crew members went on mass sick leave alleging that despite assurances of job security, salary preservation and recognition of seniority and expertise, there has been a visible departure from these commitments during the transition from AirAsia to AIX.

They also alleged mismanagement and lack of communication from the management side due to which AIX had to cancel flights in hundreds, which led to serious problems for the air passengers and caused loss of crores for the airline. This was followed by the AIX Employees Union writing a letter to the Delhi Labour Commissioner requesting his intervention after which the airlines' management withdrew the suspension of 25 of its employees and gave the assurances to the crew management.

But, on May 21, the AIX Employees Union wrote a letter to the Central Labour Commissioner regarding the number of flight cancellations and delays daily by the AIX management following the conciliation meeting held on May 9. "As per the conclusion of the conciliation, all cabin crew reported back for flying duties by May 10. However, it is shocking to note that many flights are still being cancelled and delayed, citing reason of 'crew constraints'," it read.

"Upon inquiry, it has come to our notice that the operations department lost cabin crew data due to the transition from old software ARMS to the new (CAE) app managed by the scheduling department. The department concerned has asked the crew to submit their details for updating the data in the new system.,i.e., CAE," it mentioned.

If further added the reduced number of departures is adversely affecting the cabin crew's salaries. It is pertinent to note here that as part of consolidating its airline business, Tata Group is merging Air India Express and AIX Connect, as well as Vistara with Air India. AI Express currently has a fleet of 73 aircraft and operates 360 flights daily.