AI stir enters 7th day, 14 international flights cancelled

The strike by Air India pilots entered the seventh day today, forcing the national carrier to cancel as many as fourteen of its international flights that caused inconvenience to hundreds of passengers.

"As the pilots are not ready to call-off their strike and join work, we have cancelled 14 international flights from Delhi and Mumbai," an Air India official said.

The pilots, who are on strike since Tuesday, are not ready to relent from their stand until their demands are met. They have also refused to accept Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh's call to come to the dialogue table after withdrawing their strike.

The carrier had to yesterday cancel as many as 20 international flights.

Hundreds of passengers were stranded following the flight cancellations. They had alleged yesterday that they had not been given the refund by the airline against their booked tickets after the cancellation of the flights.

The crisis further worsened yesterday with airline's executive pilots coming out in support of striking pilots, asking the management to revoke the sack orders and hold immediate negotiations to end the impasse.

The striking pilots while stating that they were ready for talks showed no signs of returning to work, leaving passengers fretting with holiday schedules going haywire.