'They'll not change, should be shut down again': Ghulam Nabi Azad on Air India Express' 'mass sick leave' fiasco

Air India Express cancelled over 80 flights and scores of flights were delayed after a section of crew members called in sick alleging 'mismanagement'. The mass sick leave left many passengers in a limbo, among them was former civil aviation minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. 

"If the flight got cancelled, passenger should be informed in morning itself...thousands of passenger are suffering unnecessarily. Air India (sic) should be shut down again. Air India’s culture and foundation is weak, they will not change," the former union minister said after his flight got disrupted. 

The ministry of civil aviation has called for a report from Air India Express regarding cancellation of flights and asked them to resolve issues promptly. They have also been advised to ensure facilities to passengers as per DGCA norms. 

The airline, which is in the process of merging AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) with itself, is to operate 360 daily flights during the summer schedule that started in the last week of March. An Air India Express spokesperson said the airline is engaging with the cabin crew members to understand the reasons for reporting sick and also apologised for the flight disruptions. 

Discontent has been brewing among a section of the cabin crew at the low-cost carrier for some time now, especially after the start of the merger process. 

The disruptions are the latest setback to India's aviation market, after Tata Group-owned Vistara Airlines was forced to scale back operations by 25-30 flights per day because of a pilot shortage in April. Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group had in 2022 announced the merger of Air India with Vistara, while Air India Express merges with Air Asia.