Cabin crew strike: Air India Express issues termination letters to 25 members; asks others to join work

Air India Express faces mass cabin crew sick leave protest, cancels 60 flights, threatens termination for non-compliance.

Air India Express has issued termination letters to around 25 cabin crew members who reported sick that led to the cancellation of more than 90 flights, airline sources said on May 9.

The Tata Group-owned airline has also given an ultimatum to the remaining cabin crew members reporting sick to join back duty by 4 p.m. on May 9 or face termination, they added.

Air India Express has also cancelled at least 60 flights for May 9 due to the non-availability of cabin crew, the sources said and added that mass leaves by a section of the cabin crew have caused immense inconvenience to passengers.

There are around 1,400 cabin crew, including about 500 at the senior level, at the airline.

Over 200 cabin crew started reporting sick from Tuesday night to protest against alleged mismanagement at the airline that caused the cancellation of over 90 flights.