Varanasi: Thirty Malayali pilgrims were among 150 passengers stranded in Varanasi after their Air India Express flight was unexpectedly cancelled due to a lightning strike on Wednesday. Pilgrims who had reached Varanasi airport were left without food, water, or rest facilities. Air India Express authorities informed them that the next available flight is only on Friday.

The passengers were supposed to board a connection flight from Varanasi at 8 am to reach Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Kochi respectively. Most of them had visited Ayodhya and other pilgrimage centres in the past week. The passengers, including women, children, and the elderly, are waiting outside the terminal. They cannot avail the facilities in the airport as they did not check-in.

Flights from Kerala to the Gulf have been cancelled en masse as employees called in sick and went on strike demanding allowances. This has led to hundreds of passengers being stuck at airports, with all services from Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Karipur, and Kannur suspended.

Discontent has been brewing among a section of the cabin crew at the low-cost carrier for some time now, especially after the start of the process of merger of AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, with itself. The airline, in a statement, said, "A section of our cabin crew has reported sick at the last minute, starting last night, resulting in flight delays and cancellations. "While we are engaging with the crew to understand the reasons behind these occurrences, our teams are actively addressing this issue to minimise any inconvenience caused to our guests as a result."

The airline, in its statement, sincerely apologised to passengers for this unexpected disruption and emphasised that this situation does not reflect the standard of service it strives to provide. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is investigating the flight cancellation incident.