By NNN-Bernama,
Chennai, India : At least 10 international flights, including a flight to Malaysia, were cancelled Tuesday as talks between loss-making Air India and its pilots continued to hit a deadlock for the fourth day.
The national carrier is in a quagmire after over 150 executive pilots in the non-union category had gone on sick leave since last Saturday to protest the management’s decision to cut their financial incentives by over 50 per cent.
Many passengers were left stranded after at least 35 domestic flights were suspended until Tuesday morning.
Air India’s daily flights from Chennai to Kuala Lumpur had been disrupted since the labour dispute and passengers to Malaysia were put on the airline’s low cost carrier, Air India Express.
“This morning’s (2.15am) flight to Kuala Lumpur was cancelled but passengers were relieved because they were put on the Air India Express flight. Only the non-unionised pilots are still on strike while other pilots are on duty.
“We are trying to end the deadlock soon through talks. If it fails then the ministry (of Civil Aviation) has to step in,” a senior Air India official told Bernama in a telephone interview Tuesday.
At least 40 pilots in Chennai have yet to report for duty.
The carrier is also planning to temporarily suspend its ticketing counters nationwide for the next 15 days.
Tuesday’s flights from Delhi to Bangkok and Chennai to Singapore were affected due to the crisis.