Cabin crew halts strike as carrier agrees to withdraw termination letters

AIR India Express employees withdrew an ongoing strike on Thursday evening after the management agreed to reinstate 25 sacked cabin crew members.

The airline has cancelled more than 170 flighs since Tuesday night as a section of the cabin crew began reporting sick in order to protest against ‘mismanagement’.

Earlier in the day, the Tata Group-owned airline had issued termination letters to around 25 cabin crew members currently on strike.

“The management agreed to reinstate 25 cabin crew who have been terminated on May 7 and May 8 for reporting sick as a concerted action immediately. The management will review the cases of these cabin crew as per service regulations," read an excerpt from the official notice. 

Representatives of Air India Express Employees Union (affiliated to the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh) held a nearly five-hour-long meeting with the airline management on Thursday. The decision to end the strike and withdraw the termination letters were during the course of the meeting in Delhi. Girish Chandra Arya — the All India Secretary of BMS — told news agency PTI that there would be a fresh meeting on May 28 after both parties had a chance to discuss the issues. 

An airline spokesperson also urged travellers to check their flight status before departing for the airport amid the extensive disruptions. Passengers who have had flights cancelled or delayed beyond three hours can opt for a full refund or reschedule to a later date without any fees.

"We are pleased with the progress we made at the conciliation meeting and welcome our cabin crew colleagues back at work. This will help us swiftly restore our flight schedule and fulfil our commitments to our guests. “We sincerely apologise to those inconvenienced by these unintended disruptions. It is not in keeping with our usual service standards, and we will review it internally to ensure accountability," the official said.