Reduced flights are affecting cabin crew compensation. AIXEU

24 May 2024 CW Team

A union of Air India Express employees has expressed worries over flight delays and cancellations, claiming that the fewer departures are negatively affecting the cabin crew's pay, less than two weeks after the airline's cabin crew decided to end their protest. The non-availability of airport entrance credentials has allegedly left over 100 cabin crew members idle and without flying responsibilities for the past two months, according to the Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU).

Following a meeting between union and airline representatives in the nation's capital, which was organised by the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central), the cabin crew strike was called off on May 9. The strike, which was called in protest of the airline's alleged mismanagement, ended in flight delays. The union asserted in a letter to the commissioner that data related to the cabin crew was lost when the scheduling department switched to new software. In order to handle flight delays and cancellations, the cabin crew is manually supporting the scheduling department on a base-by-base basis.

The union said that the lower number of departures is negatively impacting the cabin crew's pay and that it is requesting immediate action from the commissioner. The cabin crew's flight hours have an impact on their pay as well. The official Air India Express spokeswoman remained silent. Referring to the strike earlier this month, an airline executive with knowledge of the situation stated that the rollout of a new staff scheduling system coincided with a portion of cabin crew reporting sick. As a result of the circumstances, in order to handle flight delays and cancellations, the cabin crew is manually supporting the scheduling department on a case-by-case basis.

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