Tata Group-owned Air India Express has "terminated with immediate effect" the services of the 30 cabin crew members who went on mass sick leave without notice, which led to the cancellation of over 100 flights since Tuesday night, affecting around 15,000 passengers. At least 74 flights scheduled for Thursday have been cancelled as a result of the crisis.
In an emailed statement, the airline said the move by the crew members "pointed to a pre-mediated and concerted abstentation from work without any justifiable reason".
It said that the mass sick leave was not only in violation of the applicable laws, but it also "violated the Air India Express Limited Employees' Service Rules as are applicable to you".
"It is noted that at around the same time, an overwhelming number of other cabin crew members have also reported sick and not reported for their duties. This clearly points to a pre-mediated and concerted abstentation from work without any justifiable reason," it added.
The airline said that as a result, "a large number of flights had to be cancelled, thereby disrupting the entire schedule, which cause tremendous inconvenience to our esteemed passengers".
The emailed statement followed Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh's announcement that the airline was curtailing flight services until May 13 as a result of the cabin crew crisis.
The flight cancellations occurred from Tuesday night to Wednesday. Chaos erupted at a few airports as passengers were outraged that they were not informed beforehand.
The latest developments come amid ongoing discontent among cabin crew members at the low-cost carrier, especially after the start of the merger process of AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) with Air India Expres
Source: India Today