Air India Express Crisis: 85 Flights Cancelled, Mass Sick Leave Leads To Chaos

More than 70 Air India Express flights were cancelled on Thursday due to widespread sick leave among the airline's cabin crew.

Air India Express cancelled 85 flights on Thursday, accounting for approximately 23% of total daily capacity, as disruptions due to the cabin crew shortage continued. Air India will operate services on 20 of its routes to minimise passenger inconvenience. Air India has issued termination letters to approximately 25 cabin crew members who reported sick in protest of the airline's alleged mismanagement, which forced it to cancel more than 100 flights since Tuesday night.

Without directly mentioning the termination letters, the airline stated that it is taking appropriate action against specific individuals because their actions have caused significant inconvenience to thousands of passengers.

Today, we will operate 283 flights. We have mobilised all resources, and Air India will assist us by flying on 20 of our routes. However, 85 of our flights have been cancelled," the airline said in a revised statement on Thursday. The cancellations account for approximately 23% of the Tata Group-owned airline's scheduled daily flights of about 368. In an earlier statement, the airline stated that it had cancelled 74 flights and would operate 292 services.

The airline has asked passengers to check to see if their flight is affected by the disruption before heading to the airport. If the flight is cancelled or delayed for more than three hours, they can get a full refund or reschedule for a later date without paying any fees, it said.

25 Cabin Crew Members Fired 

Earlier in the day, the airline had issued termination notices to 25 cabin crew members who had reported sick and asked others to return to duty by 4 p.m. on Thursday. Against this backdrop, Air India Express stated that it is taking appropriate action against specific individuals.

"While we will continue to engage with our cabin crew colleagues with a commitment to address any concern, we are taking appropriate steps against certain individuals as their actions have caused grave inconvenience to thousands of our guests," it stated.