Aloke Singh, CEO of Air India Express, on Wednesday declared that the airline would decrease flights in the coming days due to a considerable number of cabin crew members reporting sick right before their assigned duties.
This situation has resulted in the cancellation of more than 90 flights, impacting operations throughout the network. Singh emphasized that this conduct does not represent the airline’s cabin crew, who remain committed to serving diligently.
“Since last evening, over a 100 of our cabin crew colleagues have reported sick prior to their rostered flight duty, at the last minute, severely disrupting our operations. Because this action was mostly by colleagues assigned L1 role, the impact was disproportionate, disrupting 90+ flights even though other colleagues reported for duty,” the CEO said in a statement.
Air India Express Managing Director, Aloke Singh, writes to the airline’s employees regarding the current crisis after over 100 cabin crew reported sick before their duty pic.twitter.com/B5vMKnrJVN
— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2024
“The disruptions have cascaded across the network, forcing us to curtail the schedules over the next few days. We had to do this to cope with the non-availability of crew and to recover schedules. This act is certainly not representative of the 2,000-odd cabin crew colleagues in the company who continue to respond to the call of duty and serve our guests with dedication and pride. I am thankful to all who are standing by the airline in this hour of crisis,” he added.
In a statement comprising 350 words, Singh reassured stakeholders of accessible communication channels and welcomed discussions to tackle any concerns. Highlighting the commitment of senior cabin crew members, Singh underscored the airline’s progression and ambitious expansion strategies.
“If there are concerns that need to be addressed, the company leadership is available for any discussions. All comms channels remain open departmental townhalls (one pre-scheduled for tomorrow), monthly all-hands townhall, besides formal and informal reach out to leaders,” he said.
“In particular, senior cabin crew colleagues who have seen the airline evolve from a small, niche operator to what we are today – a rapidly growing, 350+ flights-a-day carrier, with a strong network footprint across India, Gulf and SE Asia – have a deeper stake in helping build and achieve the vision we have set for ourselves,” he added.