Strike in crash-hit India airline drags, woes mount
Striking Air India ground employees rally outside the domestic airport in New Delhi, India, on Tuesday. Several flights have been canceled after about 13,000 Air India (AI) ground employees from across the country went on a flash strike against the management's show-cause notice to key union leaders for speaking up about protocol after the Mangalore crash. (EPA)
Published: May 26, 2010 11:36 Updated: May 26, 2010 11:55
NEW DELHI: A strike at Air India, the country's beleaguered national carrier, dragged into its second day on Wednesday and forced many flight cancellations days after one of its aircraft crashed, killing 158 people.
At least 13,000 passengers were stranded because of the strike called by Air India's ground and technical staff who said they were protesting against a company "gag" order on union leaders speaking to reporters about Saturday's accident.
Air India spokesman K. Swaminathan said 76 flights, mostly domestic, had been canceled. Flights to the United States, Britain, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other long-haul destinations were operating.
"Meetings have been scheduled some time later in the day," he said referring to talks between the management and the unions.
The striking employees said the "gag" order had also asked them not to speak about the airline's safety issues or staff problems. They said two of their leaders had been threatened with sacking for speaking to the media on these issues.
Vivek Rao, general secretary of Air Corp Employees Union, told Reuters that some 15,000 employees had joined the strike.
On Wednesday, hundreds of weary passengers were seen waiting for their flights at airports in New Delhi and Mumbai. Many complained of harassment.
""Nobody is listening to us, they just say flights are canceled," said Ram Yadav, who was waiting to fly to Dubai. "They tell us that get this (refund) from where you bought the ticket. Now how can we get to Dubai?"
The ailing airline is expected to lose millions of rupees in refunds. The airline lost $875 million in the fiscal year ended March 2009.
An aircraft of the airline's budget arm Air India Express crashed while negotiating a tricky landing in southern India on Saturday, killing all but eight of the 166 people onboard in India's worst air disaster in a decade.
The reasons for the crash are not yet known and investigators were analyzing the plane's flight data recorder.
