More Airlines Embargo Shipments To India

Three more international airlines have joined several other carriers in telling customers not to send cargo from abroad to Indian destinations because of a contract loaders strike here, Indian airport industry sources said.

These airlines are Japan Airlines (JAL), Singapore Airlines (SIA) and KLM.

The sources added there had been unconfirmed reports that some incoming cargo shipments, which would normally have been sent to New Delhi, had instead been airfreighted to Mumbai airport, where there is no contract loader dispute.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has said that 1,100 of its contract staff want full AAI staff loader status, terms and conditions.

While they are in dispute, 400 casual staff had been drafted in replace them and they had helped keep cargo moving smoothly.

An AAI spokesman said the authority is clearing 85 per cent of average daily tonnage of 300 to 310 tonnes.

A backlog that accumulated since the strike began on December 16 had also been substantially cleared over the past weekend, he added.

AAI officials said they hoped there could be a settlement within a few days and that talks with the strikers were in the offing.

The AAI has to face the fact that the courts have already ruled, well before the present dispute, in favour of contract cleaners being given staff conditions of employment, industry sources noted.

The AAI also faces mass leave action from tomorrow by AAI officers at the countrys five gateway airports which handle all international flight, airport emergency, VIP and passenger ground movements.

Combined with the loaders strike here, this could seriously disrupt Delhi airport as a whole, observers said.

The officers operate from New Delhi airports Indira Gandhi international terminal while domestic flights use the airports Palam terminal, although many service facilities are combined.

Japan, Singapore and Dutch airlines advise customers not to send cargo to Indian destinations because of the ongoing strike by the contract loaders at Delhi.