Air India sacks 10 flight attendants for reporting late

The problem of crew delaying flights has become endemic since early this year. On February 13, four air hostesses did not reach Delhi's terminal 3 for operating a flight to Australia.

In the first action of its kind, Air India sacked about 10 air hostesses last week for reporting late for work, delaying flights. AI decided to crack the whip after witnessing an unusual rise in instances of cabin crew sauntering in when they want, keeping passengers waiting for hours. More crew members could lose their jobs in the coming days, warned a senior official.

"The first batch of four air hostesses was sacked after a Delhi-Chicago non-stop flight was delayed because of late arrival of stewardesses last week. The services of five or six more were terminated on Sunday evening. More action will follow," said a senior official.

The problem of crew delaying flights has become endemic since early this year. On February 13, four air hostesses did not reach Delhi's terminal 3 for operating a flight to Australia. While one of them reached the airport almost two hours after the scheduled departure time, another said she could fly only someplace nearby like Dubai. Two others refused to fly. The airline suspended the airhostess who 'opted' for Dubai while her scheduled flight to Australia was waiting.

On February 20, AI issued a general notice warning crew that if they do not reach airports in time to operate flights on time, the airline will take penal action, including terminating their services. "Many of the AI employees flaunt their political connections and rarely obey orders to work properly. This time also, they ignored the notice," said a source.

AI has a cabin crew of 3,600, mostly air hostesses, of which 2,200 are for operating wide-body aircraft for long-haul flights. The rest fly narrow-body planes to domestic and neighbouring international destinations. On time performance (OTP) has never been a strong point with AI and its domestic punctuality is almost always at the bottom of the list released by the DGCA.

"Our OTP has to improve at any cost. We are on the verge of joining the Star Alliance that has globally acclaimed airlines like Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines. Passengers will expect a similar experience from us once we get transfers from Star airlines," said a source.  Source:  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com