12-hour airport staff strike hits IGI, flights cancelled

Wed, Aug 20 10:01 AM

Six flights, mostly bound for Kolkata, were cancelled on Wednesday as airport employees went on a 12-hour strike on the issues of privatisation of government-owned airports and wages.

Their stir is in support of the country-wide general strike-call given by the Central Public Sector Trade Unions (CPSTU).

Two Jet Airways flights bound for Kolkata and Mumbai while one flight each of Indigo, SpiceJet, Deccan and JetLite were cancelled due to the strike.

Passengers travelling to Kolkata, Guwahati and Pune faced problems at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi due to cancellation of flights.

Hundreds of Airport Authority employees staged a demonstration at domestic, International and Cargo terminals at the airport demanding a better pay, job security of the AAI employees in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Nagpur

airports.

The Airport Authority Employees' Union (AAEU), under which all airport employees have gone on strike, has been demanding no further privatisation or leasing out of other AAI airports in the country.

Meanwhile, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), a GMR-led consortium that manages the Indira Gandhi International Airport, had prepared a back-up plan to minimise the impact of the strike on the airport operations.

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