Air travellers stranded at M'lore Airport too as pilots' strike enters eighth day

[email protected] (CD Network)
May 15, 2012

airMangalore, May 15: Many passengers were stranded in Mangalore Airport too for several hours as Air India cancelled 20 international and domestic flights on Tuesday.

Sources from Mangalore office of Air India said that Mangalore-Doha-Bahrain flights have been revised following the strike.

As per the new schedule IX 819 Mangalore-Doha-Bahrain flight will take off from Mangalore on Wednesday, May 16, at 8:30 am, but will continue its journey to Bahrain after reaching Doha. The same flight on Friday will fly directly to Bahrain from Mangalore.

Meanwhile, IX 389 Mangalore - Kuwait flight, which was supposed to take off at 5:45 pm on Tuesday, May 15, also cancelled.

Air India Express flights, which were affected, also include Thiruvanthapuram-Dubai, Madurai-Mumbai and Calicut-Kuwait.

Among the 20 cancelled flights there are five flights from Mumbai. From Delhi, flights to Amritsar, Hong Kong, Jeddah, Paris and Frankfurt were cancelled.

As the stir by over 200 Air India pilots entered the eighth day on Tuesday leading to cancellation of 10 international flights, the Government said the DGCA will take action against those who have falsely reported sick and not joined work.

“We have, as part of our contingency plan, operated Delhi-Toronto, Delhi-New York routes, and hope to operate more flights tonight,” an Air India spokesperson said.

With a medical summary issued by the Aviation Ministry stating that most of the AI pilots, who called in sick, were neither found at home by doctors sent by the airline nor reported to doctors empanelled by the carrier, the Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Ajit Singh, said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will take action against them.

“I and you don't need any medical teams to ascertain they are sick. If they have reported sick but were found fit or not found at their houses as reported in the Aviation Ministry's medical summary, then the DGCA will take necessary action against them,” Mr Singh told reporters.

The pilots have been calling in sick and not reporting for duty in protest against rescheduling of training programme of Dreamliner and issues related to their career progression.

According to the medical summary, about 48 out of the 53 Delhi-based pilots who reported sick were not found at home. Their residences were found locked and their mobiles unreachable.

Nine out of 18 outstation pilots, who were staying at Hotel Hyatt, complained of bad stomach and backache but doctors found them medically fit.

Of the 53 homes visited by doctors, 12 were found locked. When doors were opened, the medical teams were given unclear information.

The Minister said the pilots have the right to go on strike, as employees may have some grievances. “They should have discussed with us, why have they chosen to go on a strike during the peak vacation season.”

Meanwhile, seven Air India unions in a letter to Mr Singh have sought an end to the standoff between pilots and the management.

Seeking Mr Singh's intervention, the AI unions of engineers, cabin crew, commercial staff, and ground staff have blamed the merger for the ongoing crises.


Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 29,2020

New Delhi, Feb 28: They could hear shots being fired, sense smell of property and vehicles being burnt and feel the stones being pelted. Despite the mayhem that unfolded just a few steps away from their doorsteps, many Muslim households did not feel unsafe due to their Hindu neighbours during the violence in Delhi earlier this week.

Tarannum, a resident of Chand Bagh, said she cannot thank her neighbour Nem Singh enough for saving 15 members of her family that fateful night of February 25. Singh, an auto-rickshaw driver, lives right across her house.

"I could hear the thumping on the door. Our neighbour came to rescue us and assured us that no harm would come to our family, " said Tarannum who lives in lane number 7.

"We thought khayamat has come. Our kids too got scared. Those indulging in rioting are just terrorists. Hindu brothers gave us shelter and saved us. How should I say that they are Hindus or Muslims? When we were under attack, these Hindu brothers provided us safety. We should not fight, " said Tarannum while recounting the horror.

She said a mob has no face, no religion. "I want to tell everyone mob has no name, no religion. Kaun sa pathar kisne mara kisko laga pata hai kya? Pathar ne mazhab dekha kya? (Which stone was thrown by whom, who was hit, does anyone know. Stone does not have a religion," she said.

Singh said he could not bear the wailings of his neighbour's kids.

"Dar to tha par apni gali mein kisi ko pareshan nahi hone dena tha. (I too was afraid but I could not have let them hurt my neighbours)," said Singh when asked if he could have also been attacked for giving shelter to Tarannum family.

"I told them that the rioters will have to go through us first. We all were equally scared," recalled Singh.

Jameel, another local resident, said that his Hindu neighbours were even ready to sacrifice their lives to save him from the ruthless terrorists hired by pro-CAA politicians to unleash violence against Muslims.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 29,2020

Bengaluru, June 29: The Karnataka government on Monday issued guidelines to conduct online classes for all students of ICSE, CBSE and SSLC under the directions of the High Court.

According to the guidelines, for the kindergarten students, online classes can be held 30 minutes a week and students in classes 1-5 will have online classes for 30-45 minutes divided into two periods for three alternate days every week.

For students in classes 6-8, the online classes will be for 30-45 minutes divided into two periods for five days every week while students in classes 9 and 10 can have the virtual classes for 30-45 minutes divided into four periods for five days a week.

Earlier, the state government barred online classes for the kids from LKG to class 5.

Minister for primary and secondary education S Suresh Kumar had said that online classes cannot be held for the kids from LKG to class V.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 13,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 13: In an attempt to avoid the ugly scene of migrant workers walking to their native places due to the current week-long lockdown imposed in the state, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is running 1,600 additional buses on Monday and Tuesday to help them return safely.

The KSRTC has already run 249 additional buses from the State capital and has so far ferried 6,641 passengers and 231 buses have been booked.

The KSRTC appealed to the public not to panic as additional buses have been deployed. "After ensuring social distance and conducting thermal screening, passengers will be allowed to travel. It has already been planned to operate additional buses," the corporation stated in a press release here.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.