Setback for expatriates; Air India cancels multiple flights till end of May; several flights to be merged and run as single services

Muscat: Air India Express has cancelled various flights in the Kerala sector. In a circular sent to travel agents, Air India officials informed that several flights till the end of May have been cancelled.

Kozhikode-Muscat flights on May 29 and 31 and Muscat-Kozhikode flights on June 30 and June 1 have been cancelled. Flights from Thiruvananthapuram to Muscat and from Muscat to Thiruvananthapuram on May 30 and from Kannur to Muscat and from Muscat to Kannur on May 31 have been cancelled. Air India Express has also announced that it has merged several flights in the month of June. Muscat - Kozhikode and Muscat - Thiruvananthapuram services on June 8 and 9 will be merged and run as single services.

Last week also five services of Air India Express from Kannur were cancelled. Sharjah, Dammam, Dubai, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi flights have been cancelled. Apart from this, two flight services in Nedumbassery were also suspended.

According to earlier reports, the Kannur airport has suffered a loss of five crores due to the Air India Express cabin crew strike. The journey of more than four thousand people was disrupted here alone. The strike was called off after a discussion between the employees' association and representatives of Air India in the presence of the Chief Labor Commissioner (Central) in Delhi. Air India management had agreed to look into the demands of the employees. 30 employees had been given notice of dismissal citing inconvenience to passengers, embarrassment to the company and huge financial loss.

The strike was called off after a discussion between the employees' association and representatives of Air India in the presence of the Chief Labor Commissioner (Central) in Delhi. Air India management had agreed to look into the demands of the employees. 30 employees were given layoff notices citing that they caused inconvenience to passengers, embarrassment to the company and huge financial loss due to the cancellation of flights. These notices were also cancelled.