Crew not responsible for Air India Mumbai-Toronto flight delay: AICCA

All India Cabin Crew Association today claimed that its members were not responsible for the 16-hour delay of Air India Mumbai-Toronto flight on April 15 which was operated via Cairo.
    
"Cabin crew are being made hapless scapegoats for the administrative inefficiencies and callousness of all other agencies which handled these flight routes via Cairo," AICCA general secretary Sanjay Lazar said in a statement here.

Lazar alleged that Air India had scheduled two flights without any prior intimation or flight plan to and fro Cairo station to the cabin crew.

"None of the 54 cabin crew who were present in the hotel at Cairo were either called or intimated of any impending arrival or departure flight from Cairo to either India or the US," the statement said.
    
The Mumbai-Toronto flight with around 150 passengers on board was operated via Egypt's capital Cairo in view of the closure of European airspace due to volcanic eruption in Iceland.
    
A section of media had reported that the inordinate delay was due to its seven-member crew going out for sight-seeing in Cairo instead of reporting for duty on time.

"Some inordinate flight delays did occur due to crew not being available at the right time to operate the flights. In view of the above, Air India has already initiated action and is seeking explanation from some crew members in this regard," an Air India statement had said yesterday.

The association claimed that the crew which went for sight seeing was not even on call as no flight was scheduled.
    
"The AICCA demands immediate suspension of all other department staff/agencies involved in the operations," the statement said.