Air India pilots go on stike, call in sick

New Delhi, May 5: Cash-strapped

's international flights were delayed by 16-24 hours after the pilots of the ailing airlines went on

to show their

against the decision to send domestic sector piolts for training on training on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

"Pilots report for duty three hours before the scheduled departure of a flight. Pilots started reporting sick from Friday night. Three were to fly the AI-101 to New York, scheduled to depart at 1.45am, two were to man AI-187 to Toronto, to depart at 2.15am, and two others were to operate AI-127 to Chicago at 2am. We managed extra pilots for the Chicago flight, which was delayed by just about 15 minutes. However, no pilots could be arranged for the other two flights which had to be delayed. The passengers were sent to hotels," said an Air India official.

Reports reveal that the AI-101 was held up by 24 hours before it was actually cancelled. "Thankfully, the passenger load on Sunday was not much and we could manage the switch," added the official.

The AI-380 to Singapore scheduled for Sunday and its return flight have been cancelled. The AI-187 flight to Toronto was delayed by 16 hours, said reports.

According to sources, pilots from Chicago flight called in sick first followed by those from New York and Toronto.

OneIndia News