Kolkata

KOLKATA: Three IndiGo Airlines flights scheduled for takeoff between 3. 15pm and 4pm were delayed by at least 15 minutes each following a flash protest by outsourced baggage loaders. Senior airlines officials intervened to control the situation. Sources said the incident had served a warning and the airline was keen to address the issue.  

Employees who load passenger bags on aircraft before departure and unloads them on arrival at Kolkata airport went on a flash ceasework the proposed pay restruturing being carried out by the airline. While IndiGo outsourced services like loaders to agencies like JP Ground Handling in Kolkata, it has now set up a subsidiary, Agile Aviation, that is taking over the contractual staff on its payroll.

The migration of the employees to IndiGo payroll has to be completed by June 30. When they learnt about the basic salary component on Tuesday, they mistook it for the entire salary and agitated. We have assured them that their salary will actually be more than before, said an airline official.  

The airline is planning to undertake a class to explain the salary structure to the employees. It also plans to increase the strength of loaders in Kolkata from 800 at present to 1,000-1,100.