Scores of passengers were left protesting as scenes of chaos unfolded at Indian airports as more than 80 Air India Express flights were cancelled and others delayed due to cabin crew reporting sick in protest against alleged mismanagement issues at the Tata Group-owned airline, sources said on Wednesday.
Irate passengers, many of them travelling to Gulf nations, said they had been informed about the disruptions while waiting to board their aircraft.
An Air India Express spokesperson said the airline was engaging with the protesting cabin crew to understand their demands and had also apologised for the flight disruptions, PTI reported.
The airline, which is in the process of merging with AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) will be operating 360 daily flights as part of its summer schedule that started by March-end.
The crew, it is learnt, had been discontented for some time and the merger process had made things worse.
PTI quoted sources to say that more than 200 cabin crew had reported sick to protest against alleged mismanagement issues, leading to cancellation of 80 flights since Tuesday night and additional delays.
Airports hit hardest were Kochi, Calicut and Bangalore, they added.
Even as Air India Express offered a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date, some passengers said they could lose their jobs if they did not
report at work on time and others feared their work visas would expire.
One woman, who was to travel from Kannur to Sharjah with twin babies and her husband said she had to rejoin work on May 9, but Air India Express was offering her a flight from Kochi only on May 10.
“My boss will say not to come and I will lose my job," she told mediapersons, PTI reported.
"A section of our cabin crew has reported sick at the last minute, starting last night, resulting in flight delays and cancellations. While we are 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," the Air India Express spokesperson said in a statement.
Apologising to customers for the "unexpected disruption", the spokesperson said those impacted by the cancellations will be offered a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date.
Late last month, a union representing a section of the Air India Express cabin crew had alleged that the airline was being mismanaged and there was lack of equality in the treatment of the staff.
Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), a registered union, which claims to represent around 300 cabin crew members, mostly seniors, had also alleged that mismanagement issues had affected employee morale.
The development at Air India Express comes a month after Tata Group full-service carrier Vistara witnessed pilot woes, forcing it to temporarily cut down capacity by 10 per cent or 25-30 flights daily.
"Guests flying with us today are requested to check if their flight is affected, before heading to the airport," the airline spokesperson said.
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