Air India cabin crew complain that airline’s new policy on shared hotel rooms will impact their rest requirements

Air India’s recent announcement that most of its cabin crew must share hotel rooms during layovers has sparked concern over their need for rest and privacy, especially during long-haul flights. The new norms have been announced as Air India is merging with Vistara, where cabin crew were already required to share hotel rooms. “With the merger of Air India and Vistara formalising, there is a need to harmonise these policies for employees of both the organisations,” an airline spokesperson said in response to a query, adding that these were part of compensation and benefits announced that are “competitive and benchmarked to industry standards.” Air India clarifies An Air India official speaking on the condition of anonymity clarified that cabin crew with different flight schedules would not be made to share a room together. The regulator defines rest as “a continuous, uninterrupted and defined period of time, subsequent to or prior to duty, during which a cabin crew member is free from all duties, standby and reserve.” “It is not kind, it is not safe,” said Arun Kapur, former safety and emergency procedures instructor for cabin crew training at Air India.