Air India Express has terminated at least 25 cabin crew members, a day after hundreds of employees reported sick at the last minute, resulting in disruptions to flight operations.
According to sources, the management terminated cabin crew members who took sick leave between Tuesday and Wednesday.
The airline considered their sick leave a pre-meditated and concerted abstention from work without any justifiable reason and sacked them for their unprofessional behaviour, which resulted in inconvenience to over 10,000 passengers.
The decision to terminate the employees was made as their actions violated the conditions outlined in their employment contracts, leading to their immediate termination, the sources said.
This comes a day after Air India Express, a Tata Group carrier, was forced to cancel more than 80 international and domestic flights after a large number of cabin crew called in sick at the last minute.
According to the sources, some 300 staffers reported sick at the last minute and switched off their mobile phones, resulting in delays and cancellations in dozens of flights.
In a statement, the airline said the Air India Express management is currently trying to reach out to the crew, who went on mass sick leave in protest against the new employment terms of the airline.
Following the disruption of services, the Ministry of Civil Aviation shot off a notice to Air India Express and demanded a detailed report on reasons behind frequent flight cancellations experienced by the airline.
The ministry also emphasised the situation’s urgency and called for a prompt resolution to minimise passenger inconvenience.
Furthermore, they reminded Air India Express of their obligation to adhere to passenger care regulations established by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).