Vistara, Air India step in as Air India Express attempts to stabilize operations
Air India Express cancelled 120 flights and operated 246 flights, an official aware of the development said. He added that Vistara operated two flights and parent company Air India operated 20 flights for Air India Express, in order to support the network. On 9 May, the airline cancelled 85 flights and operated around 283 flights.
Broadly, the airline is curtailing its network by around 20% until it stabilizes its network by 13 May. The airline has asked its customers to check their flight status before heading to the airport. If their flight is cancelled, or delayed beyond 3 hours, they may opt for a full refund or reschedule to a later date without any additional fees.
The airline has been facing a severe network disruption, as over 100 cabin crew called in sick in the evening of 7 May, just before their rostered flight duty, resulting in severe disruption to the operations of the airline. This caused cancellations of more than 90 flights on 8 May. The cabin crew members late on 9 May ended their protest, and the airline is gradually rostering them back to duties, and it will be a while before operations normalize.
The sudden sick leave was primarily taken by senior cabin crew members, resulting in severe disruption. The company, which employs around 2,000 cabin crew members, has asked the staff to reach out to the airline for discussing their grievances related to the merger with AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India. While the airline had terminated on 8 May the employment of around 25 cabin crew members who had reported sick under a "pre-meditated" plan, it reinstated them on Thursday after a conciliation meeting.
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