• Source:JND
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Air India Express Crew Shortage: Tata Group-owned Air India Express has sacked around 25 cabin crew members following a mass sick leave incident that disrupted flight operations, affecting over 95 flights and inconveniencing more than 10,000 passengers. The management deemed the sick leave as unprofessional behaviour and a violation of employee service rules.

The disruption in flight operations stemmed from the delay and cancellation of over 90 international and domestic flights due to cabin crew members reporting sick. In response to this, Air India Express CEO, Aloke Singh, announced plans to reduce flight operations in the coming days.

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"Over 100 cabin crew colleagues have reported sick before their rostered flight duty, at the last minute, severely disrupting our operations. Because this action was mostly by colleagues assigned L1 role, the impact was disproportionate, disrupting 90+ flights even though other colleagues reported for duty," Singh said on Tuesday evening.

Singh clarified that the actions of a few did not reflect the dedication of the majority of the cabin crew, who continue to serve guests diligently. He invited staff for discussions to address concerns and assured that communication channels remained open. "This act is certainly not representative of the 2,000-odd cabin crew colleagues in the company who continue to respond to the call of duty and serve our guests with dedication and pride. I am thankful to all who are standing by the airline in this hour of crisis," he said in a statement.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation sought a detailed report from Air India Express regarding the cancellations and delays. The ministry urged the airline to promptly resolve the issues and ensure that passengers are provided with facilities as per DGCA norms.

(With ANI Inputs)