Air India Express has cancelled 86 international and domestic flights from Tuesday night till Wednesday morning after a section of crew members went on a 'mass sick leave'. While the reason for this mass sick leave is not confirmed yet, industry sources say that crew members are protesting against alleged mismanagement.

The issue

Discontent has been brewing among a section of the cabin crew at the low-cost carrier for some time now, especially after the start of the merger process between AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, and Air India Express. “Several cabin crew members have been reporting sick since Monday evening. Due to the shortage of cabin crew members, scores of flights were cancelled at various airports, including Kochi, Calicut, and Bangalore,” said an industry source.