KOCHI: Even as protests gather strength over the exclusion of 50 workers from the ground handling section of the Cochin international airport, an Air India Intelligence wing official is understood to have reached the airport to probe the issue. “The official has sought an appointment with me and I will certainly apprise him on the different aspects of the issue. Some contractors and Air India officials are hand in glove there. A total of 14 workers have been removed in the latest instance while the rest were removed citing that they agitated at Khullar,” said Aluva MLA Anwar Sadath who petitioned the Air India CMD over the issue along with MPs M.B. Rajesh and Innocent.
There have been a total of 460 workers in the ground handling wing which was managed by three agencies deployed by Air India, namely Khullar, Immanuel and Viskan. Now in their place Air India has brought its own single agency Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL) for ground handling that has excluded the experienced workers in whose place beginners have been taken and corruption is also alleged in this. Air India Airport manager P.A. Umadevi told DC on Thursday evening that no such issue existed at the airport and none has been excluded. “Ms Umadevi is responsible for all these happenings and we are not going to leave things as they are,” said Mr Anwar Sadath.
