Thousands of passengers were stranded at airports across India on Wednesday as employees of state-run airline Indian went on strike to demand higher wages and benefits. The strike began late on Tuesday when thousands of ground staff and some cabin crew stopped work at Indian, formerly known as Indian Airlines.
On Wednesday, dozens of flights were delayed or cancelled and chaos prevailed at many major airports, which are congested even at normal times in what is the world's fastest growing aviation market.
"There are a number of cancellations and delays. System-wide there could be about 40 percent disruption in flights, 60 percent would have operated," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told a news conference. He asked the employees to call off the strike or face action, adding that 23 employees had already been issued suspension notices.
The strike began after talks between the union and the management on wage revision, promotions and payment of arrears failed on Tuesday. The union said the strike would continue until its demands were met.