Following severe flight disruptions brought on by a cancelled cabin staff strike, Air India Express’s operations began to gradually improve on Friday as more members returned to work.
More than 170 flights were cancelled due to a partial cabin crew strike that began Tuesday night. On Thursday night, the airline cancelled the strike and retracted the termination letters it had sent to 25 striking employees.
Following the strike, the Tata Group airline, which runs about 380 flights per day, has halted operations. According to an official on Friday, everything should return to normal during the next two days.
According to the official, striking cabin staff members are returning, and the airline is helping them obtain the fitness certificate they need to return to work.
The official added that as most international flights take place in the evening, operations should improve starting on Friday due to the availability of additional cabin crew.
The airline offers 260 domestic and 120 foreign flights every day on average, with some days having fewer flights than others.
Due to a scarcity of cabin crew, Air India Express had to cancel 85 flights on Thursday, or around 23% of its daily schedule.
The airline said it will assist in quickly restoring the flight schedule and apologies to passengers who were affected by the flight interruptions after the strike was called off on Thursday.
Many members of the cabin crew had called in sick to express their disapproval of the airline’s supposed poor management and unequal treatment of employees.
Currently working to integrate AIX Connect, formerly known as AirAsia India, with itself, Air India Express employs over 6,000 people total, more than 2,000 of them are cabin crew.
