AI Express cancellation saga: Air India Express, which has been witnessing flight cancellations of late first due to crew members calling in sick en mass and later reportedly due to glitches in the online rostering system is now getting ready to ensure that all flight operations are up and running from the weekend onwards.

Speaking exclusively to Republic, a highly placed source in the airline, privy of the matter said that the stabilising process of the internal rostering and other online systems was in full swing to ensure no cancellations take place.

“The cancellations that have occurred during the last two days are just 5 to 6 per cent. The airline is working on a new flight scheduling mechanism which will ensure foolproof operations,” said the airline sources. He said there were “planned cancellations” and all affected passengers were being given a heads-up prior to the cancellations.

Employees’ concerns

As per a letter written by the Air India Employees Union to the Chief Labour Commissioner Delhi on May 21, the employees representing as many as 300 crew members have said that it was “shocking and surprising” that despite the assurance of the airline, many flights were still being cancelled. “As per the conclusion of the conciliation, all employees reported back to work on May 10. However, it is shocking and surprising that many flights are still getting cancelled,” the letter stated.

Besides, the employees’ union has claimed that the operations department lost cabin crew data due transition from old software to new software. Responding to these allegations, the airline official said the flight cancellations were minimal while adding that it was the heavy load transition which caused the system to become erratic, which was being resolved gradually, he added

The employees union has alleged that as many as 100 cabin crew members were sitting idle. However, the airline official said the flight cancellations were minimal while adding that the transition process was impacted by the mass sick leave and all was being resolved gradually, he added.