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Informist, Monday, May 18, 2026

By Shakshi Jain

NEW DELHI – Several flights of Air India and Air India Express were delayed Monday as employees of a government-owned ground handling service provider, AI Airport Services Ltd., struck work at the Mumbai airport demanding an increase in wages.

"Industrial action by employees of third-party ground handling agency at Mumbai airport is impacting the operations of Air India Express and Air India," an Air India spokesperson said, adding that the company's airport teams are working with all stakeholders to minimise inconvenience and restore normal operations at the earliest.

Monday was also the fifth day of a sit-in protest by fixed-term employees of AI Engineering Services Ltd. across several cities. The employees are demanding wages on a par with their permanent counterparts. "While Clause 7 of the draft model standing orders released by the Government of India on 8 May 2026 clearly states that fixed term workers should receive wages, allowances, and benefits not less than permanent workers performing similar work, the workers in AIESL--from engineers to helpers recruited under fixed-term employment--are being paid less than one-third of the salary and benefits of their regular counterparts," according to a statement released in solidarity with the employees by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, a national trade union affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

AI Assets Holding Ltd., holding company of AI Engineering Services and AI Airport Services, is a government-owned special purpose vehicle formed to manage the residual non-core assets and subsidiaries hived off during the privatisation of Air India. While AI Airport Services offers ground handling services, AI Engineering Services is said to be the largest government-owned maintenance, repair, and overhaul organisation.

Other demands of the fixed-term employees of AI Engineering Services include issuance of a no-objection certificate to those looking to leave the company after serving a notice period, inclusion of dearness allowance in their pay structure, thorough implementation of the new labour codes, and opportunities for career progression for utilities staff, one of the protesting employees told Informist.

Four union representatives have been served termination notices by the company, a member of the national trade union, told Informist. The management is now reportedly trying to replace experienced fixed-term engineers and technicians with trainees and retired personnel, he added.

Similar sit-ins are going on at the Hyderabad, Nagpur, New Delhi, and Kolkata branches of the company, according to the AI Engineering Services employee. Members of the maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility handle arrival and departure procedures for 100-150 Air India and Air India Express flights a day at the Delhi airport, as per this employee. This is in addition to completing major checks in the hangar for InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.'s IndiGo aircraft, besides providing services to several foreign carriers.

Informist had not received a response to a query sent to a representative of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation until the time of publication of this report. The chief executive officer and the human resources head of AI Engineering Services did not answer phone calls from Informist.   End

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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