New Delhi:

Air India Express on Thursday cancelled at least 74 flights as a section of cabin crew was fired, a day after nearly 300 employees of the airline called in sick and switched off their phones.

Flights that were cancelled were on domestic and international routes and were scheduled to fly from Chennai to Kolkata, Chennai to Singapore, Trichy to Singapore, and Jaipur to Mumbai. Scores of flights were also delayed on key routes.

The cabin crew shortage at the low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Air India now owned by the Tata group, has resulted in the cancellations of more than 100 flights since Tuesday and about 15,000 passengers have been reportedly affected.

The Air India Express employees have been protesting against the new employment terms, according to sources.

The crew, the sources said, has alleged a lack of equality in the treatment of staff and claimed that some staff members have been offered lower job roles despite clearing interviews for senior positions.

The crew has also flagged some modifications in their compensation package. The developments come as the airline is in the middle of a merger with AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India.

Air India Express To Curtail Flights

As the flight delays and cancellations snowballed into a full-blown crisis, Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh said that the number of flights being operated will be reduced over the next few days.

“The disruptions have cascaded across the network, forcing us to curtail the schedules over the next few days. We had to do this to cope with the non-availability of crew and to recover schedules,” Mr Singh wrote to employees.

In his letter, he said that over 100 cabin crew members had reported sick, severely disrupting operations, and that the impact was “disproportionate” because the action was taken by senior employees.

“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 added.

An Air India Express spokesperson said on Wednesday that the management is engaging with the crew to understand the reasons behind the mass leave and added that they are working to minimise inconvenience to the fliers.

Air India Express Fires 30 Cabin Crew Members

Air India Express has now sacked at least 30 cabin crew after they called in sick at the last minute. The termination letter issued to them said that the mass leave “clearly points to a pre-meditated and concerted abstention from work without any justifiable reason”.

“Your act is not only subversive of public interest, but has also caused embarrassment, severe reputational damage, and serious monetary loss to the Company. Your act of reporting sick for work amounts to a concerted action with a common understanding, to not operate the flight and to disrupt the services of the Company. This is not only in violation of the applicable laws but also violates the Air India Express Limited Employees’ Service Rules as are applicable to you,” the letter said.

According to sources, the management has given all the Air India Express employees on mass leave a deadline of 4 pm (Thursday) to return to work or face action.

The management is also likely to hold a town hall meeting with cabin crew members on Thursday evening.