Air India will conduct services in the cancelled routes of the carrier Air India Express, which is facing staff shortage due to the strike by its cabin crew for the past two days. Air India will offer its services in 20 routes to minimise disruptions. Air India Express on Thursday cancelled 74 flights."We will be operating 292 flights today. We have mobilised all resources and Air India will support us by operating on 20 of our routes.

However, 74 of our flights stand cancelled and we urge our guests booked to fly with us to check if their flight is affected by the disruption before heading to the airport," the airline said in a statement. In case
their flight is cancelled or delayed beyond three hours, the carrier said the passengers may opt for a full refund or reschedule to a later date without any fees.

The number of cancelled flights at 74 translates to around 20 per cent of the airline's scheduled daily flights. Earlier in the day, sources said the airline had issued termination notices to 25 cabin crew members who had reported sick and asked others to join back for duty by 4 pm on Thursday. Against this backdrop, Air India Express said it is taking appropriate steps against certain individuals."While we will continue to engage with our cabin crew colleagues with a commitment to address any concern, we are taking appropriate steps against certain individuals as their actions have caused grave inconvenience to thousands of our guests," it added