A stampede-like situation was witnessed at the Air India Airport Services Limited office in Mumbai’s Kalina on July 16, 2024, when thousands of applicants turned up to apply for limited positions via a walk-in interview on sight.
Stampede at Air India
The exact number of people who showed up for the interview is still being debated. Some sources claim it to be 15,000, some claim it to be 50,000, and some say it was 25,000. However, those numbers were way too high compared to the vacancies available (500-2200).
As a result, the situation soon got out of control and a stampede-like environment was created where people were seen being pulled and pushed, not having any space to stand and even suffocating. All the applicants were asked to submit their resumes and leave the premises to get a hold of the crowd.
George Abram, general secretary, Aviation Industry Employees Guild, stated that the interview session was “mismanaged” and even claimed that 50,000 applicants had turned up for the posts. “There were around 50,000 people who turned up as per my sources there. We had warned the company against such drives. There was a 1 km-long queue. Police had to be called. Applicants were asked to leave their application, and they would be called later. There are vacancies for 1,786 handyman and 16 utility agents. This shows the joblessness among the people,” Abram added.
As per the job posting, the qualifications for the job were a Class X pass certificate and an age limit of 23. The salary offered for the job was ₹22,530 per month on a three-year contract basis.
Rambabu Chintalacheruvu, CEO, AI Airport Services Limited, has now claimed that “about 15,000 people” showed up for the interview.
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