MUSCAT : Rahul Radhakrishnan, a passenger, reached Trivandrum International Airport on Wednesday early morning only to find out that the Air India Express flight he was supposed to travel got cancelled.
Thousands of other passengers who booked international and domestic flights also received similar shocks as Air India Express has cancelled more than 80 flights since Tuesday, after cabin crew called in sick en masse, in what reports say is a strike over pay and promotions.
“I came to Kerala for a health emergency and had to stay through my recovery period. My visa is getting over in two days , and if I don’t reach today, I may lose my job. They (Air India Express) are now saying they can only issue me a ticket for May 17th,” Radhakrishnan said.
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Tempers ran high between passengers and ground staff at many airports in India on Wednesday, as thousands of travellers found themselves stranded. “I had to fly to Muscat today morning at around 8 am, but my flight was cancelled. I had to urgently leave for Muscat as there was a medical emergency. After an argument with the airline staff, I was provided with a ticket for tomorrow. The passengers have been informed that there are no tickets till 17th May, and a refund will only be provided after 14 days,” said Amrita, a passenger from Trivandrum.
According to reports, about 300 senior cabin crew members reported sick at the last minute and switched off their mobile phones.
The Air India Express management is currently trying to reach out to the crew, who are protesting against the new employment terms at the Tata Group-owned airline, sources said.
Democratic Progressive Azad Party chief Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was stuck at the Delhi airport for over 3 hours on May 8, slammed Air India Express for the cancellation of flights and said the Tata group-owned airline should be shut.
“…I was supposed to leave in the morning. But I am now leaving on an IndiGo flight after sitting here for 3-4 hours… If the flights were cancelled, they should have informed us in the morning itself. Why did they fool everyone? Air India should be shut…Air India’s basic culture is bad, nothing will become of it…” Azad said.
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