Expats worried about losing jobs; facing major crisis, protests against unexpected action

KANNUR: The passengers are upset as Air India Express flights have been cancelled without any prior notice. With this, hundreds of passengers were stranded at Kannur, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Karipur airports.

Three flights to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Muscat were first cancelled. Later, services to Bahrain and Dammam were cancelled. Six services were canceled in Karipur since 8 am. These were flights to Ras Al Khaimah, Dubai, Jeddah, Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait. Flights to Muscat, Dubai and Abu Dhabi were cancelled in Thiruvananthapuram. Four flights from Nedumbassery were cancelled. Three services were cancelled in Kannur.

Many had reached the airports early morning itself. Passengers came to know about the cancellation of services only after they checked in. The reason for the cancellation of the services is the lightning strike of the employees. It is indicated that Air India employees are on nationwide strike highlighting their demands including allowance.

The people, who mostly missed their trips are expatriates who need to assume office urgently. Many are also facing visa cancellation crises. Many are worried on losing their jobs. There were huge protests in the airports. Air India has assured that priority tickets will be given on flights from tomorrow to compensate for the cancellation of services. The company said passengers will be given full refunds or tickets for another day.