Air India ground staff go on flash strike, flights from Mumbai delayed

The staff of AIATSL, the ground-handling subsidiary of Air India, went on a flash strike from 11 pm on Wednesday, demanding reinstatement of three employees who had been fired earlier

The Air India ground staff — affiliated to a Shiv Sena labour union — went on a flash strike from Wednesday night, disrupting flights at Mumbai airport in the process. However, the strike was called off on Thursday night. 

Air India operates around 470 daily flights and around 50 of those were delayed by close to two hours across the network, by Thursday afternoon.

Ground handling functions like check-in, and loading/unloading of bags, are handled by the airline’s subsidiary Air India Air Transport Services (AIATSL).  Its staff comprises both Air India employees on deputation or transfer, and employees on contract. The contract