Air India ground staff go on flash strike, flights from Mumbai delayed

The staff of AIATSL, the ground-handling subsidiary of Air India, went on a flash strike from 11 pm on Wednesday, demanding reinstatement of three employees who had been fired earlier.

Air India flights from Mumbai are facing delays, some by as much as six hours, owing to a flash strike called by the carrier’s ground staff.

Ground-handling functions like check-in, loading and unloading of bags, among other things, are handled by the airline's subsidiary Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL), whose staff went on a flash strike from 11 pm on Wednesday, demanding the reinstatement of three employees who were fired from the job.

The flash strike is causing delays, but there have been no cancellations so far. The airline's Newark flight (AI 191) departed 2.30 hours late and Bangkok flight (AI 330) took off six hours after scheduled departure.

"Due to a sudden industrial situation at Mumbai by AIATSL employees, some flights have got delayed.

We are assessing the situation and all efforts are being made to minimise delays or disruption," said an Air India spokesperson.

"Air India staff have been called from home to help with passenger check-ins," the spokesperson added.

Business Standard