Air India Express chaos: Nearly 300 crew go on 'mass sick leave', more than 80 flights cancelled

Air India Express faced a sudden crisis after about 300 senior cabin crew members took "mass sick leave" at the last minute on Wednesday (May 8) and switched off their mobile phones which led to the cancellation of around 86 international and domestic flights.

According to media reports, the Air India Express management has been making efforts to reach out to the crew who have been protesting against the Tata Group-owned airline's new employment terms and conditions. 

"A section of our cabin crew has reported sick at the last minute, starting last night, resulting in flight delays and cancellations. While we are engaging with the crew to understand the reasons behind these occurrences, our teams are actively addressing this issue to minimise any inconvenience caused to our guests as a result," said an Air India Express spokesperson on Wednesday (May 8).

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"We sincerely apologise to our guests for this unexpected disruption and emphasise that this situation does not reflect the standard of service we strive to provide," the spokesperson added.

Airline offer refunds to impacted passengers 

The airline said that the guests who have been impacted due to cancellations will be offered complimentary rescheduling on another date or a complete refund. 

 “Guests impacted by cancellations will be offered a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date. Guests flying with us today are requested to check if their flight is affected, before heading to the airport," the spokesperson said.

Taking to their social media accounts, many passengers wrote about the sudden cancellations of their flights.

They said they had "no information" regarding the cancellations.

A few of the "very disappointed" passengers, taking to X, wrote how they had reached the airport when they were informed about the cancellation of the flights.

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 "We apologise for any inconvenience. Please be informed that your flight has been cancelled due to operational reasons," said Air India Express, while responding to one of those posts on X.

A registered union, Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), had last month said that the airline was being mismanaged and there was a lack of equality in the way the staff was being treated. 

(With inputs from agencies)