Sunday, May 19

Air India Express Cancels Flights As Crew Members Take Mass Sick Leaves

Edited by Hiba Anvar

More than 70 international flights of Air India Express got canceled after several crew members reported being ‘sick’. The flights from Tuesday night till Wednesday morning got canceled. This unexpected turn of events led to flight delays, prompting Civil Aviation to look into the matter. 

In a statement, an Air India Express spokesperson said that a section of the cabin crew reported sick in the last minute which resulted in flight delays and cancellations. The spokesperson further noted that their team is actively looking into the matter to minimize the inconvenience caused to the guests. 

The airline has requested the passengers traveling today to ensure that their flights were not affected before heading to the airport. 

“We sincerely apologise to our guests for this unexpected disruption and emphasise that this situation does not reflect the standard of service we strive to provide. Guests impacted by cancellations will be offered a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date,” ANI quoted the statement as saying.

Passengers whose travel was affected will be refunded or will be given the option to reschedule their flights to their convenient dates. 

Last month, the crew members raised allegation against the airline citing the mismanagement and lack of equality in treating the staffs

Many passengers have taken their disappointments to social media after the sudden cancellation of the flights. In response to the post, the airlines apologized and said that the flight was canceled “due to operational reasons”. 

Air India Airlines, now owned by Tata Group, was issued a show cause notice by the Union Labour Ministry in December 2023 for alleged violations of regulations related to disputes between the airline’s management and cabin crew members.