THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hundreds of passengers who came to catch the Air India Express flights from three major airports in the state were left stranded due to the sudden cancellation of flights due to the staff protest, on Wednesday morning. As many as 12 flights were cancelled affecting trips to Sharjah, Abu Dabhi, Dubai, Muscat, Bahrain etc.
Many of them missed connection flights from other airports due to these cancellations. Passengers of the Thiruvananthapuram - Sharjah flight came to know about the cancellation only after they waited for onboarding at the security gate.
The passengers expressed their anguish at the sudden change in plans and the lack of response from Air India Express management in arranging alternate flights. Among those affected are those who face visa expiry, job interviews etc. Some of them explored tickets in other airlines at double the money.
Anoop Govind, a finance professional, complained on social media that his parents would miss the international connection flight from Bengaluru after the flight from Thiruvananthapuram had been cancelled.
Air India Express offered only a full refund or rescheduled the flight within 7 days.
"A section of our cabin crew has reported sick at the last minute, starting last night, resulting in flight delays and cancellations. While we are engaging with the crew to understand the reasons behind these occurrences, our teams are actively addressing this issue to minimise any inconvenience caused to our guests as a result.
We sincerely apologise to our guests for this unexpected disruption and emphasise that this situation does not reflect the standard of service we strive to provide. Guests impacted by cancellations will be offered a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date. Guests flying with us today are requested to check if their flight is affected, before heading to the airport,” Air India Express spokesperson.
The operations of close to 80 international and domestic flights were affected from various airports as about 300 cabin crew reported sick, as a mark of protest, at the last minute.
