Muscat: Hundreds of the Sultanate of Oman’s residents were left stranded in the Republic of India after the low-cost airline Air India Express cancelled all the five flights to Muscat on Thursday, May 9, 2024.
Travel agents confirmed to Times of Oman that Air India Express cancelled all five flights to Muscat International Airport on Thursday – which includes Mumbai-Muscat, Calicut-Muscat, Kannur-Muscat, Mangalore-Muscat and Thiruvananthapuram-Muscat flight following a cabin crew strike which started on Tuesday evening.
Officials said that Air India Express on Thursday cancelled at least 85 flights as a section of cabin crew was fired, a day after nearly 300 employees of the airline called in sick and switched off their phones.
Flights that were cancelled were on various domestic Indian routes as well as international routes including Muscat.
The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Air India now owned by the Tata group, said that it is making every possible effort to minimise the inconvenience caused to guests by this ‘unexpected situation’.
Meanwhile Tata Group-owned Air India Express has terminated the services of the 30 cabin crew members who went on mass sick leave without notice, which led to the cancellation of over 100 flights since Tuesday night, affecting around 15,000 passengers.
The airline also announced that it would be operating 292 flights on Thursday, with Air India operating on 20 of Air India Express routes.
