Mumbai: On the first day of strikes called by pilots of Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), a body of agitating Air India pilots, the airports were mired in confusion and mayhem. Offices were shut down, flights were cancelled, passengers were stranded, and slogans were shouted, with both pilots and government deciding to stand their ground. With the cancellation of more than a dozen flights leaving Mumbai for Delhi, Gwalior, Rajkot and other locations, passengers were stranded at the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport. Talking to MiD DAY, the passengers expressed their angst over the mayhem.
Sameer Baderia, whose flight to Gwalior was cancelled, said, "When I reached the airport at 1 pm, I was told that my flight was cancelled. Now I don't have any alternate flight for Gwalior. The airlines have offered me one to Delhi." BCCI Vice President Niranjan Shah was also affected by the upheavals at the airlines. He said, "My flight for Rajkot is cancelled, I have a working committee meeting there." Law student Ruchi Delhiwala's flight to Ahmedabad was delayed by more than two hours. She said, "The executive at the counter could not tell me if the flight was delayed or cancelled."
The strike by Air India pilots gave a number of private airlines the opportunity to hike their fares. "Ticket prices have shot up. Rates for tickets to Delhi and Bangalore have increased by 20 per cent. The difference is even more glaring in small sector flights like Ahmedabad and Rajkot. An Air India flight to Rajkot usually costs Rs 3,000-4,000. But after the strike, a Jet Lite ticket to Rajkot is costing an exorbitant Rs 16,450," said Devang Sanghvi of Venus Holiday.
The Air India management called the strikes illegal, and derecognised the ICPA, sealing its offices in Mumbai and Delhi. Soon, the slighted association members started shouting slogans against the Air India management, in both Mumbai and Delhi. Mumbai ICPA members shifted their base to a private hotel near the Mumbai domestic airport.
28/04/11 Bipin Kumar Singh/MiD DAY
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