What is the story about?
Air travel disruptions are becoming more and more frequent. Passengers at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport faced delays on Monday (May 18) after several Air India flights were hit due to a sudden strike by workers of the Air India Airport Services Limited (AIASL).
As per reports, flyers also had to wait inside their aircraft for up to 90 minutes as employees of the ground handling agency carried out a strike at the Mumbai airport over wage hike and other demands. As ground operations came to a halt, several flights experienced delays.
Let’s take a closer look.
Many flights of Air India and Air India Express were delayed on Monday as employees of the government-owned ground handling agency AIASL went on strike at the Mumbai airport.
At least 15 flights departing from Mumbai were delayed by between 90 minutes and two hours, reported
Indian Express.
Many passengers were also reportedly stuck on planes for more than an hour after their flights were grounded after landing at the Mumbai airport.
Flyers on an Air India flight from Hyderabad to Mumbai that landed at 11:45 am on Monday were among those who said they could not disembark the plane for at least an hour after arrival.
“We landed at 11.45 am and had to remain inside the aircraft till around 1 pm. Once we disembarked, we were told there had been some strike by the ground staff. Even after that, there was no clarity on where to collect our baggage from and I was only able to get mine around 2 pm,” said Sujit Dilip, a 50-year-old circus owner from Pune who was to attend a business meeting in Mumbai at 1 pm, told
Indian Express. “I ended up missing the meeting,” he said.
The protest resulted in basic ground operations, including deplaning support, baggage unloading and aircraft servicing, facing severe delays or even becoming unavailable, as per a CNN-News18 report.
An Air India flight from Mumbai to Dehradun, which was set to depart at 12:10 pm, was delayed by at least two hours. “We have been waiting at the boarding gate since 11 am. Our boarding time on the pass is 11:10 am and we are yet to board the flight,” Gajendra Verma told
Indian Express after the flight had not taken off even after 3:30 pm.
After finally deboarding the plane, passengers had to wait up to an hour or even more for their checked-in baggage.
Several Air India passengers affected by the delays took to social media to express their ordeal.
Seafarer Atul Sharma, who arrived on Flight AI 2995 from Delhi, wrote on X: “Very disappointed with Air India service at Mumbai Airport. Arrived from Delhi on Flight AI 2995 over 1 hour ago, baggage is still not delivered and no proper assistance from staff. We are seafarers and need to urgently join our ship from Mumbai. Kindly resolve this immediately."
Another passenger tagged the Ministry of Civil Aviation and wrote: “Pls note passengers are stuck in Air India flight AI 2874 which landed in Mumbai for close to 90 minutes now without any update."
At least three flights — AI 2852, AI 2874 and AI 2995 — were publicly confirmed to have been affected.
AIASL, a government entity operating as a third-party ground handling agency, provides services to the Air India Group — Air India and Air India Express — along with international airlines at the Mumbai and other airports across the country.
Ground handling services involve workers who park the aircraft at the bay, operate the aerobridge or steps, refuel the aircraft, unload baggage from the hold, clean the cabin and handle check-in, as per News18.
When these workers halt work, arriving aircraft get stuck at bays, departures are held up and passengers are left waiting inside planes with engines off.
The AIASL caters to 80 airlines, including international airlines such as Flydubai, Saudia, Oman Air and Salam Air. It has 20,000 employees who work at 84 airports across the country.
It handles 650 flights per day at these airports, including 35 per cent of international flights and 65 domestic operations.
Following flight disruptions at the Mumbai airport due to a flash strike by AIASL workers, Air India said in a statement: “Industrial action by employees of a third-party ground handling agency at Mumbai airport is impacting the operations of Air India Express and Air India. Our airport teams are working closely with all stakeholders to minimise inconvenience to guests and restore normal operations at the earliest. We appreciate the understanding and patience of our guests during this time.”
Airline staff at the Mumbai airport deployed contingency personnel after the protest by AIASL workers. They also coordinated with airport authorities to stabilise flight movements and clear the backlog at the earliest, reported India Today.
Later, AIASL said employees resumed work after assurances from the management that their demands, including wage hikes, would be considered.
“There was a silent morcha by a certain section of employees, and we requested them to give us in writing their demands for discussion. They have been kind enough to go back and join work,” Rambabu, CEO of AIASL, said, as per
PTI.
“They have given us a letter. We have told them that we will go through the same in terms of the policies,” he added.
With inputs from agencies
As per reports, flyers also had to wait inside their aircraft for up to 90 minutes as employees of the ground handling agency carried out a strike at the Mumbai airport over wage hike and other demands. As ground operations came to a halt, several flights experienced delays.
Let’s take a closer look.
Air India flights face disruption
Many flights of Air India and Air India Express were delayed on Monday as employees of the government-owned ground handling agency AIASL went on strike at the Mumbai airport.
At least 15 flights departing from Mumbai were delayed by between 90 minutes and two hours, reported
Many passengers were also reportedly stuck on planes for more than an hour after their flights were grounded after landing at the Mumbai airport.
Flyers on an Air India flight from Hyderabad to Mumbai that landed at 11:45 am on Monday were among those who said they could not disembark the plane for at least an hour after arrival.
“We landed at 11.45 am and had to remain inside the aircraft till around 1 pm. Once we disembarked, we were told there had been some strike by the ground staff. Even after that, there was no clarity on where to collect our baggage from and I was only able to get mine around 2 pm,” said Sujit Dilip, a 50-year-old circus owner from Pune who was to attend a business meeting in Mumbai at 1 pm, told
The protest resulted in basic ground operations, including deplaning support, baggage unloading and aircraft servicing, facing severe delays or even becoming unavailable, as per a CNN-News18 report.
An Air India flight from Mumbai to Dehradun, which was set to depart at 12:10 pm, was delayed by at least two hours. “We have been waiting at the boarding gate since 11 am. Our boarding time on the pass is 11:10 am and we are yet to board the flight,” Gajendra Verma told
After finally deboarding the plane, passengers had to wait up to an hour or even more for their checked-in baggage.
A boy looks at Air India airline passenger aircrafts parked at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, India, February 1, 2024. File Photo/Reuters
Several Air India passengers affected by the delays took to social media to express their ordeal.
Seafarer Atul Sharma, who arrived on Flight AI 2995 from Delhi, wrote on X: “Very disappointed with Air India service at Mumbai Airport. Arrived from Delhi on Flight AI 2995 over 1 hour ago, baggage is still not delivered and no proper assistance from staff. We are seafarers and need to urgently join our ship from Mumbai. Kindly resolve this immediately."
Another passenger tagged the Ministry of Civil Aviation and wrote: “Pls note passengers are stuck in Air India flight AI 2874 which landed in Mumbai for close to 90 minutes now without any update."
At least three flights — AI 2852, AI 2874 and AI 2995 — were publicly confirmed to have been affected.
Why AIASL went on strike
AIASL, a government entity operating as a third-party ground handling agency, provides services to the Air India Group — Air India and Air India Express — along with international airlines at the Mumbai and other airports across the country.
Ground handling services involve workers who park the aircraft at the bay, operate the aerobridge or steps, refuel the aircraft, unload baggage from the hold, clean the cabin and handle check-in, as per News18.
When these workers halt work, arriving aircraft get stuck at bays, departures are held up and passengers are left waiting inside planes with engines off.
The AIASL caters to 80 airlines, including international airlines such as Flydubai, Saudia, Oman Air and Salam Air. It has 20,000 employees who work at 84 airports across the country.
It handles 650 flights per day at these airports, including 35 per cent of international flights and 65 domestic operations.
Following flight disruptions at the Mumbai airport due to a flash strike by AIASL workers, Air India said in a statement: “Industrial action by employees of a third-party ground handling agency at Mumbai airport is impacting the operations of Air India Express and Air India. Our airport teams are working closely with all stakeholders to minimise inconvenience to guests and restore normal operations at the earliest. We appreciate the understanding and patience of our guests during this time.”
Is the situation normal now?
Airline staff at the Mumbai airport deployed contingency personnel after the protest by AIASL workers. They also coordinated with airport authorities to stabilise flight movements and clear the backlog at the earliest, reported India Today.
Later, AIASL said employees resumed work after assurances from the management that their demands, including wage hikes, would be considered.
“There was a silent morcha by a certain section of employees, and we requested them to give us in writing their demands for discussion. They have been kind enough to go back and join work,” Rambabu, CEO of AIASL, said, as per
“They have given us a letter. We have told them that we will go through the same in terms of the policies,” he added.
With inputs from agencies
