Air India Express also canceled around 75 flights on Friday due to shortage of cabin crew. Airline operations are expected to return to normal by Sunday. The airline has suffered a loss of around Rs 30 crore since Tuesday due to flight cancellation. News agency PTI, in one of its reports, quoted an official as saying that the number of flight cancellations on Saturday is expected to be around 45-50. The airline has canceled more than 260 flights since Tuesday due to crew shortage. 200 crew members suddenly went on leave on the night of 7th May. About 200 crew members of Air India Express suddenly went on leave on the night of 7th May. All these employees had applied for sick leave together and had also switched off their mobiles. In such a situation, due to shortage of crew, the airline has to cancel flights. The employees accused the airline of mismanagement. The employees who took sick leave accused the airline of mismanagement. The airline took action and dismissed 25 employees from their jobs. However, after talks with the management, the employees called off the strike on Thursday evening. The airline also took back the dismissed employees. The Chief Labor Commissioner had mediated in this entire dispute of the airline. There was a meeting between representatives of the airline and Air India Express Employees Union at the Chief Labor Commissioner’s office in Dwarka, Delhi. In this, both the parties agreed to withdraw the strike and reinstatement of the dismissed employees. Air India Express operates 380 flights daily. Tata Group’s airline operates approximately 380 flights daily. Out of this, the airline operates 120 international flights and 260 domestic flights daily. There are also fewer flights on some days. It has a fleet of 73 aircraft.
