A day after widespread sick leave, 25 workers are let off by Air India Express

May 9, New Delhi, India: A day after hundreds of workers reported absenteeism and caused aircraft operations to be disrupted, Air India Express terminated at least 25 cabin crew members.

Sources close to the airline said that on Wednesday, the management fired cabin staff members who had taken sick leave between Tuesday and Wednesday for acting in an unprofessional manner, causing thousands of customers’ annoyance.

The widespread sick leave was seen as a planned, coordinated, and unjustifiable absence from work, in violation of Air India Express Limited’s employee service policies.

The choice was taken to fire the staff members because of their conduct, which went beyond the terms of their employment agreements and resulted in an instant firing.

Over 10,000 customers were impacted by the delays caused by the mass sick leave on over 95 Air India Express flights between Tuesday evening and Wednesday.

The delay and cancellation of more than ninety local and international flights as a result of cabin crew members reporting being unwell caused the disruption in airline operations. Aloke Singh, the CEO of Air India Express, responded to this by announcing that fewer flights will be operated in the next few days.

Since Tuesday night, more than 100 members of the cabin crew have abruptly reported being unwell before their scheduled flight duty, which has seriously disrupted operations, according to Singh. Even though other colleagues reported for duty, the effect of this action was disproportionate since it was primarily carried out by colleagues assigned to the L1 function, interrupting almost 90 flights.”

He emphasized that the bulk of the airline’s cabin staff, who continue to serve passengers with pride and commitment, are not represented by the actions of a small number of people.

“The 2,000 or so cabin crew members in the organization who still go above and beyond to serve our passengers with pride and passion are in no way represented by this behavior. In a statement, he added, “I am grateful to everyone supporting the airline at this hour of trouble.

Singh promised that all lines of communication are open and welcomed the workers to have conversations to resolve any issues they may have.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation requested an extensive report from Air India Express as a result of the cancellations and delays. The government asked the airline to take swift action to address the problems and guarantee that the amenities offered to customers meet DGCA standards.

According to ministry sources, aircraft operations were halted on Wednesday morning as a result of a sudden staff shortage that started on Tuesday night and continued throughout the morning. Citing health concerns, a few senior crew members are said to have turned off their cell phones just before takeoff.