THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The family of a 25-year-old woman, who could not meet her husband before his death in a hospital in Oman, owing to the recent flash strike by Air India Express crew, has said they will take legal recourse against the airline.
Amrita, a nursing student from Karamana here, had booked tickets for May 8 to see her husband in Muscat, but on reaching the airport, she was told that the flight was cancelled owing to the strike. After she protested at the airport, Air India Express offered her a ticket on the same airline on May 9. However, that ticket too was cancelled due to the strike and she had to abandon her travel plans altogether.
The airline refunded the full fare, which was booked through a travel agent. But Amrita could not book another flight due to the exorbitant fares of other airlines to Muscat. Amrita’s husband Nambi Rajesh, an IT manager, breathed his last in the hospital in Muscat and the news reached her on Monday.
“Except mediapersons, nobody else has visited our house. No representative of the airline has contacted us till now,” said Amrita’s mother Chitra T. “We will take legal action against the airline that left us in such a terrible situation,” she added.
When contacted, an official of Air India Express expressed ‘deep condolences’ over the incident. “After the second flight was cancelled, we offered a full refund of the fare which was accepted by the passenger. We do not know why the passenger could not travel to Muscat after May 9,” the official said.
The Tata group owned airline said it operates over 380 flights daily and on May 8 around 80 flights, including those from Thiruvananthapuram, had to be cancelled owing to the strike.