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Strike disrupts flights in India Strike disrupts flights in India
(about 2 hours later)
Thousands of employees of India's state-run domestic airline have begun an indefinite strike, disrupting air travel across the country.Thousands of employees of India's state-run domestic airline have begun an indefinite strike, disrupting air travel across the country.
Some flights have been cancelled, many are delayed by several hours and the fate of others remains uncertain. Indian Airlines says some flights have been cancelled and most are delayed.
Baggage handlers, check-in staff and other employees of Indian Airlines want better wages and career prospects.Baggage handlers, check-in staff and other employees of Indian Airlines want better wages and career prospects.
The strike began after talks with the management broke down. The airline has described the protest as "illegal". The strike action came after the government approved a plan to merge the struggling airline with the country's flagship carrier, Air India.
Although flights operated by private airlines were mostly on schedule, long queues of passengers were seen at several airports. Because of this problem we have had to change all our plans - it is very frustrating Neelesh Verkhedkar, Passenger at Mumbai
The two have faced increased competition from new private airlines in recent years and Indian Airlines, also called Indian, has seen its market share drop to 20%.
The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says staff are staff fear that the merger with Air India may eventually lead to job cuts or hurt their future prospects.
'Frustrating''Frustrating'
Neelesh Verkhedkar, whose wife was booked to travel on an Indian Airlines flight, told the BBC: "We saw in the morning news that the flights have been delayed or cancelled and since she has to be in Nagpur tonight, we came to the airport to make alternate arrangements." The strike began on Tuesday night after a breakdown in talks with management, which has described the action as "illegal".
He said they managed to get her a ticket on a private airline. We are deploying staff from other places to keep operations running Indian Airlines spokesman
"They haven't even put up a list of which flights have been cancelled. Everything is very uncertain and we couldn't take any chances," he said. There have been chaotic scenes in some of India's major airports, including the capital, Delhi, the financial capital, Mumbai (Bombay), and the IT hub of Bangalore.
Majid, a passenger told the NDTV news channel in the capital, Delhi: "No-one is ready to tell us when the flight will take off or whether it will take off at all or not." Although flights operated by private airlines were mostly on schedule, long queues of prospective travellers have been reported.
Another passenger told the channel that even after the plane landed, it took the airline half-an-hour to bring the ladder to the plane. Passengers say there has been little information on when services will return to normal, or what to do until they do.
In January, the government announced the merger of Indian Airlines with the state-owned international carrier Air India to be able to compete more effectively with private carriers. Neelesh Verkhedkar, whose wife was booked to travel on an Indian Airlines flight out of Mumbai, told the BBC: "We saw in the morning news that the flights have been delayed or cancelled and since she has to be in Nagpur tonight, we came to the airport to make alternate arrangements."
He said they managed to get her a ticket on a private airline but the lack of information from Indian Airlines was "frustrating".
"They haven't even put up a list of which flights have been cancelled. Everything is very uncertain and we couldn't take any chances."
Indian Airlines operates more than 300 flights a day, carrying some 30,000 passengers.
By about midday (0630 GMT), just 40 flights had departed while 12 had been cancelled, Reuters news agency reported.
The airline's website contains no special advice for passengers seeking to travel.
But a spokesman said: "We are deploying staff from other places to keep operations running."
Competition
The merger of Indian Airlines with state-owned international carrier Air India is aimed at making them able to compete more effectively with private carriers.
Set up in 1932, Air India is the country's flagship international airline, serving more than 40 destinations worldwide.Set up in 1932, Air India is the country's flagship international airline, serving more than 40 destinations worldwide.
Indian Airlines is focused on the domestic market. Indian Airlines is focused on the domestic market, but recently began some flights to destinations in Asia and the Middle East.
But in the last few years, privately owned rivals such as Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines have taken market share from the duo. In the last few years, privately owned rivals such as Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines have taken market share from the duo.