Air India Express flight services were disrupted on Wednesday after at least 300 senior cabin crews went on sick leave. Due to mass sick leave by cabin crew members, at least 86 Air India Express flights were cancelled. 300 Air India Express cabin crews reportedly went on sick leave and they all switched off their mobile phones so that the company could not reach them. Due to disruption in flight services, many passengers took to Instagram handle and expressed their frustration. In response to a passenger's post about a cancelled flight, Air India Express apologised and cited "operational reasons" for the cancellation. However, Air India Express cabin crew sick leave reason is linked to the merger process with AIX Connect, formerly known as AirAsia India. Below is Air India Express cabin crew sick leave reason explained-
Why did the Air India Express cabin crew go on a mass sick leave?
As per reports, the cabin crew members went on a mass cik leave to lodge their protest against 'mismanagement at the airline'. The cabin crew at Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India, has reportedly alleged that there was a lack of equality in the treatment of the staff after the merger with Tata Group. The Cabin Crews alleged that some staff members were offered lower job positions despite clearing interviews. Furthermore, the crew has also alleged that the key parts of the compensation package have been modified or removed and that the airline management is shutting down the dissenting voices. The controversy and dissent have spiked when the airline is currently also in the process of merging AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) with itself.
The TATA group is merging its Airline business i.e. Air India Express and AIX Connect as well as Vistara with Air India in order to consolidate airline business. Notably, a few months back, Vistra witnessed similar type of protest, however, during that pilots went on a mass sick leave. Economic Times quoted a a letter sent to N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Group, by Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU) in April highlighted various grievances, including the removal of allowances such as HRA, resulting in significant salary cuts despite the airline's consistent profitability. The letter also mentioned a lack of equality in the treatment of employees, with internal job postings being filled by external candidates, bypassing qualified internal candidates.
How to get a refund if your Air India Express flight was cancelled?
If your flight has been cancelled, Air India Express’ official site says that you can either reschedule your flight or get a full refund. If you choose to reschedule, you can choose a new flight that is departing upto 7 days before or after your original departure time. You can do this without any additional costs.
Alternatively, you can request a full refund for the flight booking. You can use both these options through Air India Express’ chatbot, Tia, upto 2 hours before the original flight was supposed to depart. The Chatbot is available on the official website in the bottom right corner.