National carrier Air India on May 14, 2012 extended the bar on the flights for the west bound flights till May 17, 2012. The strike of the pilots has completed a week today on May 14 and the flights were cancelled further despite the fact that it had mulled the option of shutting down the global operations.
More than 200 pilots have come down to protest due to which 14 international flights have been cancelled. This on the other hand has adversely affected the travelling passengers.
The airline earlier announced that it would not accept bookings for flights to North America and Europe till Tuesday. The airline official said that it has extended the period to May 17, 2012.
The officials added that the complete closure of the international operations was not ruled out if the strike continued and added that these services were responsible for about 48 percent of the operational losses of the ailing carrier. A court order held the protest as illegal and later even the government refused to hold talks with the protesting pilots till they get back to work. After the cancellation of the flights hundreds of passengers were stranded at the airport.
