Air India Express cancels more than 80 flights

Over 80 international and domestic flights of Air India Express were cancelled after the senior crew members of the airline went on mass ‘sick leave’.

The development came after several cabin crew members started reporting sick since Monday evening and as there are not enough cabin crew members, “scores of flights” have been cancelled at various airports, including Kochi, Calicut and Bangalore.

According to sources, the Civil Aviation authorities are looking into the issue to understand the cause of the sudden incident. Meanwhile, reports suggest that the flights were cancelled due to shortage of Air India Express staff members as a section of them are reporting sick to protest against alleged mismanagement at the Tata Group-owned airline.

Releasing a statement, the Air India Express said, “A section of our cabin crew has reported sick last minute, starting last night, resulting in flight delays and cancellations. While we are engaging with the crew to understand the reasons behind these occurrences our teams are actively addressing this issue to minimise any inconvenience caused.”

“We sincerely apologise to our guests…those impacted will be offered a full refund or rescheduling. Guests flying us today are requested to check if the flight is affected, before heading to the airport.,” the statement added.