Air India operations returned to normal on Thursday, with all 54 flights of the national carrier from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport operating as per schedule.

Officials said while flight operations in other cities would soon get on track as well, Delhi and Mumbai were most important sectors and it was being ensured that all scheduled flights were operate from these two sectors.

Air India officials were present at Terminal 1A of the Delhi airport to receive their passengers with flowers after a four-day strike by the airline’s executive pilots. The staff also offered their apologies to the departing passengers for the inconvenience caused by airline’s briefly curtailed operations.

The officials also exhibited rare compassion by helping a passenger who had to reach Chennai on the death of a close relative. Forty-year-old M Pandian reached the airport at 8 am with the hope of booking a seat on one of the low-cost carriers.

“Pandian was looking to book a ticket on the low-cost carriers, but the timings and ticket prices did not suit him,” an airport official said. Trying to get a low-fare ticket on an Air India flight, he reached the ticketing counter and found the cost of the fare was Rs 5,059.

“He had Rs 4,200 in cash and no ATM or credit card. Air India officials present came to his rescue and pooled the deficit amount of Rs 800 to pay for his ticket on flight IC-429 for Chennai. Being the first day after the strike was called off, the staff present at the airport on Thursday was higher in number compared to other days,” Chandra Kumar, Air India spokesperson, said.

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