The strike called by protesting Air India pilots entered its second day on Wednesday with five flights to and from Mumbai were cancelled and many others rescheduled.
The strike called by protesting Air India pilots entered its second day on Wednesday with five flights to and from Mumbai were cancelled and many others rescheduled.
And, the worst hit are passengers, both domestic and international, who claim that they are not being informed about the flight cancellations in advance.
“The airline did not inform us before cancelling the Mumbai-Newark-Mumbai flight. They cannot treat passengers in this way. I don’t think I will travel with Air India again,” said Suresh Wagh, a relative of one of the passengers.
Garment dealer Jitesh Jain was stranded at the international airport for seven hours as his flight to the Middle East was delayed. "The airline management was really uncooperative. They did not provide snacks or any other amenities until the flight took off.”
Recently, the American Department of Transport had had fined Air India $80,000 for failing to post customer service and tarmac delay contingency plan on its website.
On Tuesday, around 160 Air India pilots owing allegiance to the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) had reported sick, resulting in the cancellation of at least 13 international flights.
Subsequently, Air India sacked 10 agitating pilots, de-recognised their union and sealed its offices.
The guild represents around 250 pilots of erstwhile Air India.
Civil aviation minister Ajit Singh had also termed the strike as illegal, saying the national carrier's management would take appropriate action against those involved in the stir.
Indian Pilots Guild president Jitendra Awhad blamed the Air India management for turning a deaf year to their demands, and added that this had led the pilots to strike work. “The management has not been paying heed to our grievances. It is responsible for the inconvenience caused to the passengers.”
“The guild is aware of its responsibility towards the public and it is out of this sense of responsibility that we have continued to work and operate flights even when we have not been paid for four months and all our existing agreements being violated,” said its spokesperson.
"The guild is willing to meet the management or ministry at any place at any time in order to resolve the impasse," the spokesperson added.
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