Air India Express cuts daily flights as mass sick leave hits operations

The wide permission is believed to beryllium a effect of grievances related to the ongoing merger with AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India.

“If determination are concerns that request to beryllium addressed, the institution enactment is disposable for immoderate discussions. All connection channels stay unfastened - departmental townhalls, monthly all-hands townhall, too ceremonial and informal scope retired to leaders," said Air India Express main enforcement Aloke Singh successful a enactment to employees. 

A townhall is scheduled for Thursday.

"While we are engaging with the unit to recognize the reasons down these occurrences, our teams are actively addressing this contented to minimize immoderate inconvenience caused to our guests arsenic a result," an Air India Express spokesperson told Mint.

Mass leaves

Over 100 compartment unit members, mostly senior, person reported wide sick leave since the evening of 7 May, resulting successful much than 90 formation cancellations. 

As a result, the Tata Group-backed hose volition trim its regular formation number by 48 flights. Currently, the hose operates astir 240 regular home and planetary flights.

The company, which employs astir 2,000 compartment unit members, has asked the unit to scope retired to the hose to sermon their grievances related to the merger.

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Officials acquainted with the substance person indicated that the elder compartment crew's concerns revolve astir changes successful their roles and the taste displacement towards a much firm environment, akin to that of AIX Connect. This translation is simply a departure from Air India Express's erstwhile international-only focus.

Air India Express was acquired by the Tata Group, on with Air India, successful a government-led strategical divestment programme successful January 2022.

The hose is successful the mediate of integrating with AIX Connect. Simultaneously, determination is besides a translation taking spot wrong the Air India group, which volition bring a much home absorption for Air India Express and a much planetary attack for the merged entity of Air India and Vistara.

Merger issues are not caller for Tata Group-backed airlines. Last month, Vistara had to cancel respective flights owed to a shortage of pilots.

Government intervention

The civilian aviation ministry has called for a study from Air India Express regarding the cancellation of flights and has asked them to resoluteness issues promptly.

The hose has besides been advised to guarantee due facilities for passengers arsenic per Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) norms. Additionally, airdrome operators person been asked to supply proactive assistance to affected passengers during formation cancellations oregon delays.

As per information from DGCA, AIX Connect has a 5.8% involvement successful the home aviation market, and, independently, Air India Express is the 3rd largest Indian bearer for the planetary postulation to and from India.

For October-December 2023, the hose held a involvement of 7.1% and carried 1.2 cardinal passengers. While it is simply a large bearer for the West Asia market, it is besides expected to grow its web nether the broader radical synergy workout with its genitor institution Air India.

Future plans

The institution presently has a fleet size of 73 craft including 28 Airbus A320. It is acceptable to summation the fleet substantially implicit the adjacent 1 twelvemonth arsenic the hose plans to induct astatine slightest 50 retired of the 190-Boeing 737 MAX craft that Air India ordered successful February 2023.

Under a planned transportation programme, the hose is inducting an craft each 10 days and expects to implicit the induction of 50 craft by the extremity of 2024 and a full fleet size of 180 craft by the extremity of 5 years.

The Tata Group-backed airline, which plans to treble its marketplace stock successful home and short-haul planetary aerial question segments implicit 5 years, volition summation its frequencies to planetary and home destinations specified arsenic Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Jeddah, Sharjah, Ayodhya, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kannur, Kolkata, Kochi, Mangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, and Varanasi.

Also Read: The soundless emergence of Indian airlines successful overseas routes

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Published: 08 May 2024, 08:40 PM IST