Air India Express Airline Fires 30 Employees, Day After Mass Sick Leave!

Air India Express has sacked at least 30 cabin crew, a day after nearly 300 employees of the airline called in sick and switched off their phones, leading to large-scale flight disruptions. The number of job terminations is likely to increase and the management is likely to hold a townhall meeting with cabin crew members today. A total of 76 flights have been impacted today; this number includes cancellations and flights that may be operated by other group airlines.

As per the information, around 25 senior cabin crew members have been sacked by the airline following the mass sick leave by over a hundred senior cabin crew on Wednesday (May 8). Air India Express has also asked the other protesting cabin crew members to resume work by 4 PM today, said sources in the know.

According to sources in the know, the termination letters accused the agitating cabin crew of causing embarassment, reputational damage, and monetary loss to the airline. The letters also said that the act of calling in sick in a coordinated manner amounts to a common understanding of disrupting the airline’s services, which Air India Express claimed was in violation of laws as well as the carrier’s service rules.

Sources in the airline indicated that with the Air India Express-AIX Connect merger, the airline is moving towards a merit-based appreciation system instead of a progression system based on seniority, and this appears to have fanned the fire of disgruntlement among a section of the cabin crew, particularly the senior members. Additional hiring of fresh cabin crew is also learnt to have led to concerns among existing crew members about career progression.

One of the major reasons behind the recent pilots’ protest at Vistara is understood to be the new pay structure that is in line with Air India, but not as remunerative as the contracts Vistara pilots already had.