Air India Express services will also be affected in coming days: details of canceled flights

Following the cabin crew strike that began on Tuesday evening, other Air India Express services are canceled today and for the next few days. The airline also fired employees who went on strike, saying their actions were causing inconvenience to passengers. Services canceled today from Kerala airports are Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Dammam flights from Kannur; Muscat, Bengaluru, Hyderabad flights from Thiruvananthapuram; Evening flights to Calcutta and Muscat from Kochi; and Al Ain, Jedha and Doha flights from Karipur. Several Air India Express flights from the UAE are also canceled today. Flights to Kannur, Mangaluru, Tiruchirappalli and Amritsar from Dubai, Sharjah – Kannur flight and Al Ain – Kozhikode flight are some of them.

Ras Al Khaimah – Kannur flight on Friday, Ras Al Khaimah – Kozhikode and Abu Dhabi – Kannur flight on Saturday, Sharjah – Kannur, Abu Dhabi – Kannur and Dubai – Kozhikode flights on Monday are among the canceled services. Air India Express has canceled more than 100 flights since Tuesday evening due to the strike, affecting around 15,000 passengers. The carrier has decided to reduce its flights until May 13. Air India Express is expected to operate around 360 flights per day to domestic and international destinations, sources said on Wednesday. The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Wednesday sought a report from Air India Express on flight cancellations and also asked the airline to resolve the issues promptly.

Apart from the cancellations, many flights were delayed and the airline’s passengers, most of whom were due to travel to Gulf countries, protested at Kerala airports against the flight cancellations, many of them not having been informed only after security checks. Flight disruptions occurred at various airports including Kochi, Calicut, Delhi and Bangalore. Domestic and international services, including to various Gulf countries, have also been affected. At Delhi airport alone, 14 flights of the carrier were canceled between 4 am and 4 pm on Wednesday.

To tackle the situation, one of the sources said Air India Express would exploit synergies with other Tata group airlines Air India and Vistara. An Air India Express spokesperson said the airline was engaging with cabin crew members to understand the reasons for their reporting illness and also apologized for the flight disruptions.
(With inputs from PTI)