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Hundreds of travelers experienced delays and confusion at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Monday when workers from AI Airport Services Limited (AIASL) held a protest regarding pay raises and other requests, causing disruptions to multiple Air India flights. More than 15 outbound flights were delayed by up to two hours, and passengers on some inbound flights had to stay on their planes for almost an hour after they landed because of problems with ground operations. One such flight was an Air India route from Hyderabad to Mumbai that arrived at about 11:45 am. Passengers reported they were not able to exit the plane for almost an hour post landing. “We landed at 11:45 am and stayed on the aircraft until around 1 pm. After we finally got off, we learned that there was a strike by the ground crew. There was still no information on where to get our luggage, and I only found mine around 2 pm," mentioned Sujit Dilip, a 50-year-old circus owner from Pune.

“I missed my meeting," he continued, explaining that he had planned to attend a business discussion in Mumbai at 1 pm. Another flight impacted was AI 431 from Mumbai to Dehradun, which was supposed to leave at 12:10 pm. This flight was delayed by over two hours, and passengers expressed frustration over the absence of updates from the airline. “We have been at the boarding gate since 11 am. Our ticket says boarding is at 11:10 am, yet we still haven’t boarded," said Gajendra Verma, an 80-year-old retired government worker. The flight still had not taken off by 3:30 pm. AIASL, a state-owned ground handling firm, provides services for Air India, Air India Express, and several domestic and international carriers at airports in India. After the disruptions, Air India released a statement noting that the protest by workers from a third-party ground handling company had impacted their operations.

“Worker action by employees of a third-party ground handling service at Mumbai Airport is affecting Air India Express and Air India operations. Our airport teams are collaborating with all involved parties to lessen issues for our guests and restore normal functions as soon as possible. We thank our guests for their patience and understanding during this period," the airline stated. Later in the day, AIASL announced that its employees had gone back to work after management promised to look into their requests. “There was a silent march by some employees, and we asked them to submit their requests in writing for discussion. They kindly agreed to return and resume work," explained AIASL CEO Rambabu. “They provided us with a letter. We informed them that we would review it according to our policies," he added. AIASL takes care of ground operations for close to 80 airlines, including international ones like flydubai, Saudia, Oman Air, and SalamAir. The company operates at 84 airports and manages around 650 flights each day.