The ailing airline has about 30,000 employeesAir India workers have called off a two-day strike that left tens of thousands of passengers stranded after an Indian court asked them to return to work.
The strike was called in protest at an alleged gag on staff speaking about the air disaster in Mangalore. More than 100 flights were cancelled.At least 158 people died in the Air India crash.
An airline spokesman said a number of striking workers had been dismissed.
Normal operations are expected to resume in two to three days, reports say
Air India spokesman S Chandra Kumar told the Associated Press that some union leaders had been dismissed, but he did not disclose the number.
However, media reports say that the state-run airline served termination notices on 17 striking employees and suspended 15 others.
Aviation analyst Kapil Kaul said it was the first time in 20 years he had seenunion leaders being dismissed.
'Back not broken’On Wednesday, a Delhi court directed the striking employees to return to work and the government described the strike as “irresponsible.”
The leader of one of the striking unions, Vivek Rao, said they had come to “some understanding” with the Air India management and ended the strike.
“It is not that our back is broken,” he added.
Air India chairman Arvind Jadhav said the airline had been forced to take action over the striking employees: "This question is not about the strike.
“The question is about bringing accountability. The question is about discipline”
Unions said the management was banning staff from talking to the media about the crash, a charge the airline denied.
Soon after the accident, some Air India employees alleged that the airline was flouting safety regulations, something the airline also denies.
Union leaders said another aim of the strike was to “protest [against] the delay in payment of salaries and highlight the problems of the cabin crew”.
The government had given a $168m (£117m) bailout to the ailing state-run airline and promised $252m (£175m) more.
Analysts say the airline’s 30,000-strong workforce needs to be cut by half to make it competitive. Air India has a fleet of 136 aircraft flying to domestic and international destinations.
Investigators are still trying to find out why the Air India Express Boeing-737 crashed at Mangalore airport.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
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