Several Air India employees have raised privacy and fatigue concerns after the airline announced plans to implement a new room-sharing policy for cabin crew members starting 1 December. Employees have expressed worries that the policy, which requires crew to share rooms during layovers, could negatively impact their rest, health and job performance.
In an email addressed to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson and chief human resource officer Ravindra Kumar, employees highlighted the need for personal space to rest, especially after ultra-long flights and irregular shifts that can last up to 18 hours. They argued that the proposed policy would interfere with their varying sleep schedules, which are often dictated by the irregularity of flight hours. The employees stressed that the demanding nature of their work requires proper rest and privacy to maintain their well-being and ensure peak performance.
In response to the concerns, an Air India spokesperson told The Hindu that there is a need to align employee policies at Air India and Vistara following their recent merger. The spokesperson added that the new policy is part of a broader compensation and benefits package that has been benchmarked against industry standards and is competitive in the aviation sector.
Arun Kapur, a former safety and emergency procedures instructor for cabin crew training at Air India, expressed concerns over the policy, calling it neither "safe nor kind." He explained that different crew members have different ways of unwinding after long flights, with some preferring to watch television while others may want to read or sleep. Kapur emphasised that such a policy might not meet the varied rest needs of crew members on the same flight.
Under the new policy, cabin crew and senior members will be required to share rooms on a twin-sharing basis during layovers. However, in-flight cabin managers and executives with 8-9 years of experience will continue to receive single-room accommodations. While similar room-sharing policies are already in place at Air India Express and Vistara, this marks the first time such a policy will be introduced at Air India, now owned by the Tata Group.
The timing of this announcement coincides with a section of Air India employees seeking redressal of human resource issues under labor laws before the Central Labour Commissioner.
