Passenger woes continue for those booked to fly on one of 50 international flights Air India operates daily as over 200 pilots continue to call in sick to protest what they see as a lack of training privileges (see story here). Today, 13 international routes were affected by the industrial unrest.
As the strike enters its seventh day, a total of over 50 international flights to destinations including Shanghai, London, Paris, Frankfurt, New York and Newark, Toronto and the Gulf region have been cancelled, leaving scores of passengers stranded. Air India has now stopped taking international long-haul flight bookings until May 15.
This is reported to be costing the state-owned airline Rs100 million (US$2 million) a day, and comes after the government announced a US$6 billion bailout package for the struggling carrier recently.
A total of 76 pilots have now been fired from the airline for not reporting to work, and Air India management have declared that they consider the strike illegal and are refusing to negotiate until the pilots return to work.
Alex Andersson
