Air India Express will restore flights after cabin crew standoff

Air India Express is planning to restore operations after it resolved a dispute with cabin crew that saw the airline cancel 85 flights.

Staff who had called in sick en masse will return to work after progress was made at a conciliation meeting, the airline said in a statement late Thursday. The carrier said that will enable it to swiftly restore its flight schedule.

Air India Express was forced to cancel 85 flights Thursday and seek parent Air India Ltd.’s support to operate some routes after more than 100 cabin crew called in sick at the last minute.

The disruptions are just the latest in a series of issues to hit Tata Group’s aviation business, which is in the midst of a revamp after the conglomerate bought Air India from the government in 2021. 

Air India Express is currently integrating with AirAsia India to form a single carrier and Chief Executive Officer Aloke Singh earlier this week urged workers to embrace transformation and change while promising there would be growth opportunities for everyone.

Meanwhile, Air India is planning to absorb Vistara, jointly owned by Tata and Singapore Airlines Ltd., by the end of the year to create an enlarged full-service carrier. 

Starting in late March, pilots there also called in sick en masse over concerns about fatigue and pay cuts, forcing the airline to cancel more than 100 flights over the course of a week and eventually scale back its schedule.

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