MUMBAI: The contractual ground staff of Air India Air Transport Services Ltd (AIATSL) in Mumbai Airport is on strike since Wednesday night.

Several flights from Mumbai have been delayed.

Air India says all efforts are being made to minimize delays or disruptions.

As per sources, the strike is due to the non-payment of Diwali bonus.

The ground staff of AIATSL performs job functions like loading bags, checking-in passengers, cleaning aircraft, cargo, etc.

According to a source, “All Air India flights are being hit. Some like the Mumbai-Bangkok flight AI 330 are still on ground.”

After a delay of seven hours, the Mumbai-Bangkok flight finally departed at 8.18 am.

The flight duration between Mumbai and Bangkok is nearly four and a half hours.

While another flight, Mumbai- Newark left at 4.08 am instead of 01.30 am.

An Air India spokesperson told, “Till this morning, 10 domestic flights were delayed besides three international ones. The delay was up to three hours.”