In a major flight disruption, Air India Express faced significant turmoil on Wednesday as more than 70 international and domestic flights were cancelled or delayed due to senior crew members calling in sick en masse. The situation has raised concerns within the Ministry of Civil Aviation, which is closely monitoring the developments.
The cancellations and delays began on Tuesday night and persisted into Wednesday morning, forcing the airline to curtail its scheduled operations. The sudden shortage of crew members led to flights being grounded, affecting both domestic and international routes.
According to sources within the ministry, some senior crew members switched off their mobile phones just before flight operations, citing health issues. With no alternate staff available, the flights had to be cancelled.
Civil Aviation authorities are looking into the issue, as Air India Express issued a statement addressing the situation and apologizing to affected passengers.
“A section of our cabin crew has reported sick at the last minute, starting last night, resulting in flight delays and cancellations,” an Air India Express spokesperson said. “While we are engaging with the crew to understand the reasons behind these occurrences, our teams are actively addressing this issue to minimize any inconvenience caused to our guests as a result.”
The spokesperson added, “We sincerely apologize to our guests for this unexpected disruption and emphasize that this situation does not reflect the standard of service we strive to provide. 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 sudden sick leave by senior crew members has highlighted operational challenges faced by the airline industry.
This incident comes shortly after Vistara encountered similar issues on April 1, when more than 100 flights were severely affected due to pilots calling in sick.
(Inputs from ANI)