After Vistara, Air India Express runs into turbulence as cabin crew goes on ‘mass sick leave’

After Vistara, Air India Express runs into turbulence as cabin crew goes on ‘mass sick leave’

New Delhi: Air India Express has cancelled more than 70 scheduled flights and delayed many others, citing shortage of staff in light of a section of the cabin crew reporting sick at the last minute. While the reason for the mass sick leave isn’t clear yet, reports hint it could be dissatisfaction with terms of employment at the carrier acquired by the Tata Group in 2022.

A government source told ThePrint that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has “called for a report from Air India Express regarding cancellation of flights and asked them to resolve issues promptly”. The airline has also been “advised to ensure facilities to passengers as per DGCA norms”, the source added.

These developments come close on the heels of turbulence at Vistara — co-owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines Ltd. — which had to cancel more than 100 scheduled flights last month primarily due to shortage of staff after crew members, mostly pilots, called in sick.

Reacting to reports suggesting this was a registration of protest over revised pay structure, the airline termed it a “misrepresentation”, attributing disruptions to crew unavailability along with ATC (air traffic control) delays, bird hits, and maintenance activities.

On cancellations and delays of Air India Express’ flights, a spokesperson told ThePrint, “A section of our cabin crew reported sick at the last minute, starting last night, resulting in flight delays and cancellations.”

While the spokesperson did not disclose the reason behind the last minute sick leaves, they said the company is engaging with the crew to understand the reasons behind these occurrences. “Our teams are actively addressing this issue to minimise any inconvenience caused to our guests as a result.”

“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,” the spokesperson said, adding that those impacted by cancellations will be offered a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date.

Last month, a group of Air India Express cabin crew had alleged mismanagement and unequal treatment of staff at the airline.

Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), which represents a section of the airline’s cabin crew members, wrote to Tata Group and Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran on 26 April stating: “There is a glaring lack of equality in the treatment of employees. Salaries, experience and merits are being disregarded, with internal job postings now being filled by candidates external to Air India Express, bypassing qualified internal candidates.”

The union, according to a report by the Press Trust of India, also alleged that employees find themselves ‘silenced’ while attempting to address grievances, with management ‘suppressing’ dissenting voices on company platforms.

In December 2023, the Ministry of Labour and Employment had reportedly issued a show cause notice to Air India Express in connection with concerns raised by cabin crew, including over room sharing during layovers.

Following the disruption due to mass sick leaves at Vistara last month, two trade unions of Air India — Indian Pilots Guild (Boeing pilots association) and Indian Commercial Pilots Guild (Airbus pilots’ union) also wrote to Tata Sons chairperson N. Chandrasekaran alleging that concerns raised by Vistara pilots about remuneration and work-life balance are not isolated incidents but indicative of systemic issues across Tata Group’s aviation entities. They had alleged that pilots are being subjected to conditions and treatment “reminiscent of bonded labourers”.

In March this year, Air India Express announced a significant network expansion and increased flight frequencies to cater to anticipated surge in travel demand during the summer season. It had said it would offer over 360 daily departures this summer season — a 25 percent increase in frequency of flights compared to the previous summer.

“Compared to last year’s Summer Schedule, Air India Express is growing its network significantly, with over 25 percent increase in domestic and over 20 percent in international flights. This translates to an additional 55 domestic flights and 19 international flights, bringing the total to 259 domestic and 109 international departures,” it said at the time.

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)