AI ground staff bunk duties, flights hit

Mumbai, April 5 (IANS) Around a hundred ground staff working on contract with Air India (AI) failed to report for duty Thursday morning, hampering normal operations for the carrier at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here, an airport official said.

The reason behind the sudden 'mass leave' is said to be non-payment of salaries to them since the past two months.

As a result, at least two AI flights were delayed Thursday morning and more were expected to suffer delays later in the day.

This would seriously hit vacation plans of passengers proceeding to various destinations during the extended four-day-long weekend.

The agitation came even as a consortium of 19 nationalised banks approved a Rs.18,000 crore financial restructuring plan for cash-strapped AI earlier this week.