Mumbai, May 29 (ANI): Passengers continue to be left in the lurch due to the strike by Air India pilots, which entered its twenty-second day on Tuesday.
Stranded passengers moved to and fro with their luggage, as they were not being given correct information by airline authorities.
"I came to Mumbai. After reaching Mumbai, we were told that the flight has been rescheduled for the 29th. We have faced a lot of problems for the last two to three days. We had to stay at our relative's house. Yesterday, we had come to the airport and we confirmed if the flight is scheduled for today. They asked us to come today, which is why we have come here," said Narsimha Ram, a passenger.
Earlier, striking pilots indicated that they are ready to return to work if the 101 sacked pilots are reinstated.
In a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh, IPG General Secretary Erjahn Kapadia said: "We would be very grateful if you could accommodate us in your busy schedule and grant us an appointment at the earliest."
"We wish to reiterate that IPG members are willing, available and open to hold talks with the Hon'ble minister and ministry officials to end the stalemate at the earliest," it said appealing to Singh give them "at least a chance to present our case in front of him".
The IPG also claimed that it has requested one of the eight pilots recently trained to fly Boeing 787-Dreamliner to fly to Seattle in the US to take delivery of the first of these aircraft for Air India.
The ongoing pilots' agitation has resulted in cancellation of several flights of the ailing airline, including many international ones, causing passenger inconvenience and a loss of over Rs.200 crore to the exchequer.
About 500 Air India pilots who fly international routes have been demanding that their colleagues from Indian Airlines should not be trained to fly Dreamliners, as they believe it may hurt the career prospects of original Air India staff.
Both companies were merged in 2007, but there have been problems with the integration since then. A central auditor also criticized Air India's purchase of Dreamliners last year for "imposing an undue long-term financial burden". (ANI)
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