Air India Express sacks 30 crew who went on mass sick leave

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, May 09, 2024: Tata Group-owned Air India Express has "terminated with immediate effect" the services of the 30 cabin crew members who went on mass sick leave without notice, which led to the cancellation of over 100 flights since Tuesday night, affecting around 15,000 passengers.

 

30 crew members received the termination notices on Wednesday night.

In an emailed statement, the airline said the move by the crew members "pointed to a pre-mediated and concerted abstentation from work without any justifiable reason".

It said that the mass sick leave was not only in violation of the applicable laws, but it also "violated the Air India Express Limited Employees’ Service Rules as are applicable to you".

The statement said that the crew members were rostered for a flight on Tuesday. "However, you informed the Scheduling team at the last moment that you were unwell and accordingly reported sick."

"It is noted that at around the same time, an overwhelming number of other cabin crew members have also reported sick and not reported for their duties. This clearly points to a pre-mediated and concerted abstentation from work without any justifiable reason," it added.

The airline said that as a result, "a large number of flights had to be cancelled, thereby disrupting the entire schedule, which cause tremendous inconvenience to our esteemed passengers".

"Your act amounts to a concerted action with a common understanding, to not operate the flight and to disrupt services of the company."

As it terminated the services of the cabin crew members, the airline said, "You will no longer be considered an employee; you will no longer have access to official mails, servers, other communication; and you and your dependants shall not be eligible for any employee-related benefits provided by the company."

The emailed statement followed Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh’s announcement that the airline was curtailing flight services until May 13 as a result of the cabin crew crisis.

"The disruptions have cascaded across the network, forcing us to curtail the schedules over the next few days... We had to do this to cope with the non-availability of crew and to recover schedules," he said.

The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has also sought a detailed report from the airline over flight delays and cancellation. It asked Air India Express to take swift action to immediately address the crisis.

The flight cancellations occurred from Tuesday night to Wednesday. Chaos erupted at a few airports as passengers were outraged that they were not informed beforehand.

At least 16 Air India Express flights were cancelled in Delhi on Wednesday, while disruptions were also reported in Bengaluru as well. In Kerala, the airline cancelled multiple flights from all four airports in the state -- Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kannur and Kozhikode.

On Wednesday evening, the airline announced that it was accommodating alternative flights for the affected passengers.

It also released a revised flight schedule and has asked people to check if their flight is affected by the disruption before heading to the airport.

The latest developments come amid ongoing discontent among cabin crew members at the low-cost carrier, especially after the start of the merger process of AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) with Air India Express.

In December 2023, the airline was issued a show cause notice by the Union Labour Ministry for alleged violations of regulations related to disputes between the airline’s management and cabin crew members.

The notice was linked to concerns raised by cabin crew members, including issues with room sharing during layovers.

Courtesy: India Today