New Delhi, May 9 (IANS): Over 85 flights were cancelled on Thursday following the mass sick leave taken by the cabin crew of Air India Express, sources said.

“A total of 292 AIX flights will operate today, 85 stand cancelled,” sources told IANS.

The airline’s cabin crew went on mass sick leave claiming that despite promises of job security, salary preservation, and recognition of seniority and expertise, there has been a noticeable deviation from these assurances.

The Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), representing a segment of cabin crew members, had also earlier written to Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran, addressing employee grievances and expressing concerns about the ongoing situation within Air India Express Limited, especially after its acquisition by Tata.

The union has accused the airline of mismanagement and unequal treatment of staff, claiming that these issues have adversely impacted employee morale.

Meanwhile, Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh in a letter to his colleagues said that act is certainly not representative of the 2,000-odd cabin crew colleagues in the company who continue to respond to the call of duty and serve our guests with dedication and pride.

“Since last evening, over 100 of our cabin crew colleagues have reported sick prior to their rostered flight duty, at the last minute, severely disrupting our operations. Because this action was mostly by colleagues assigned L1 role, the impact was disproportionate, disrupting 90+ flights even though other colleagues reported for duty,” read the letter sent on Wednesday.