Air India Express crisis averted, terminated workers being reinstated
Agreement reached with the crew members addressing all their concerns
New Delhi: In a meeting that continued for about four and a half hours regarding the human resource crisis at Air India Express, an agreement was reached with the crew members addressing all their concerns.
Both the crew and management members have agreed to restore normal airline operations. Consequently, the termination of 25 crew members has been overturned.
All unhappy crew members are ready to join office with immediate effect and management is ready to revoke all the termination letters issued, crew members told ANI.
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The meeting was held at the office of the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC). Four officers, alongside the Chief Human Resource Officer of Air India Express, were also present at the meeting.
Approximately 20 senior crew members also participated.
Should the crew members' demands remain unmet, another meeting is scheduled to convene on May 28.
About 85 flights were cancelled due to sudden sick leave calls from crew members.
On Wednesday, Air India Express apologised for the inconvenience after its flights, most of them international, were either cancelled or delayed due to senior crew members calling in sick.
The sudden shortage of crew members led to flights being grounded, affecting both domestic and international routes. Sources said that some senior crew members switched off their mobile phones just before flight operations, citing health issues.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation had called for a detailed report from Air India Express regarding the matter and had urged the airline to promptly resolve the issues.
This incident at Air India Express comes shortly after Vistara encountered similar issues in April, when hundreds of flights were affected due to pilots calling in sick.