The Air India counters at the Kolkata airport were flooded with enquiries as the Airlines suspended bookings for the next 15 days.

The cancelled flights were Kolkata-Port Blair, Kolkata-Delhi, Kolkata-Hyderabad, Kolkata-Agartala, Kolkata-Guwahati, Kolkata-Chennai, Kolkata- Bangalore, Kolkata-Jaipur, Kolkata-Kathmandu, Kolkata-Delhi-London.

“I have a special assignment in London tomorrow. I had my ticket booked. But the flight has been cancelled today. I received an SMS about the cancellation of the flight and it was written I would be accommodated in some other private airliner,” said  an American citizen.

“However, after I reached the airport, I am told there is no other flight available. I am in a mess now and do not know how I will reach London tomorrow,” he added .

Sunanda Sarkar, who was to board Delhi-bound IC 263 flight, suffered a similar fate. “We had a booking in this flight that was supposed to take off at 7 am. However, after receiving an SMS regarding the cancellation of the flight with the assurance of a substitute arrangement, we reached the airport at 5 am. However, we were not accommodated in any flight. We waited for 12 hours at the airport and finally managed to get a ticket for a private airliner,” said Sarkar.

Around 24 Air India flights, including two international flights, usually operate from the Kolkata Airport everyday, of which ten were cancelled.

“We expected all private airlines to cooperate with us and bail out the passengers. But we did not get a satisfactory response. During the standoff between the management and pilots of the Jet Airways, we, as a national carrier, helped passengers,” said a senior official of Air India.

However, Air India today operated a special flight to Port Blair as a large number of people had been stranded in the eastern metropolis for the last three days due to bad weather.

“Around 137 passengers have been allowed to board the flight while there are many passengers still stranded at the Port Blair airport for the last two days. We have been waiting for the flight since Saturday,” said Pragya Paromita Banerjee, a passenger stranded at Port Blair airport for the last two days.

“We are trying to accommodate the passengers in other flights. We have also refunded a huge amount of money. Apart from that, we have also arranged accommodation for several passengers in city hotels,” said Samik Bhattacharya, spokesperson, Air India.

Meanwhile, the Indian Commercial Pilot Association (ICPA) is backing the agitation of the Air India pilots.

“We are with them with our full strength. As of now, we do not think the strike will be withdrawn in a day or two. The company cannot impose a 70 per cent salary cut on the executive pilots without a prior notice. However, we are also concerned about the major disruption of the air services. Since no executive pilot is flying, some of the union pilots are flying to bail out the passengers,” said a senior pilot of the ICPA pleading anonymity. 

Rlys arranging special trains for stranded air passengers
With strike by Air India executive pilots leading to cancellation of several flights, the Railways are arranging special trains for stranded passengers. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today said special trains would be arranged from tomorrow to carry stranded air passengers from Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore to their destinations. “I have ordered opening of special railway counters at these places. The special train service will be for one or two days,” she said, adding it could be extended depending on the situation.