Air India Express To Curtail Flights Over The Next Few Days, Says CEO Aloke Singh Amid Cabin Crew Woes

Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh on Wednesday announced that the airline will be reducing flights over the next few days due to a significant number of cabin crew reporting sick just before their scheduled duties.

This disruption has led to the cancellation of over 90 flights, affecting operations across the network. Singh stressed that this behaviour is not reflective of the airline’s cabin crew, who continue to serve with dedication.

90+ Flights Disrupted

“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.

“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.

‘If there are concerns’

In a 350-word statement, Singh assured stakeholders of open communication channels and invited dialogue to address concerns. Underlining the dedication of senior cabin crew, Singh emphasised the airline’s evolution and ambitious growth plans.

“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.

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