Air India passengers enquire about the status of their flights at Calcutta airport on Thursday afternoon. (Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya)

The plight of Air India passengers worsened on the second day of the pilots’ strike on Thursday with executive pilots joining the ceasework, leading to the cancellation of as many as 12 flights.

Of the nine executive pilots in Calcutta, seven reported sick in a show of solidarity with the Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association that has called the strike to press for a pay revision.

Around 30 of the striking members of the association, all from the erstwhile Indian Airlines, are based in the city.

Officials said that of the 20 Air India flights to take off from Calcutta airport, only seven could fly while one was merged with another. Of the 12 flights cancelled, all but one were domestic. Most of the flights that could take off were delayed by more than an hour on an average.

In the morning, many passengers had queued up in front of the airline’s counter in the domestic terminal building of the airport to know whether their flights would take off, how to get refund or if they could rebook on other flights.

“We approached all the airlines after Air India told us that our flight had been cancelled. But none could accommodate us,” said Rajesh Sharma, a businessman, who along with five others, was scheduled to take Air India’s flight to Aizawl.

“When we went back to the Air India counter, the staff expressed helplessness and offered us free tickets for any other date. But we had to go today to attend an important business meeting,” said the Baguiati resident.

Bishu Dey, a resident of Aizawl who had come to Calcutta on official work, suffered a similar plight. “My brother has fallen ill and I had to return home today but there is no seat on any other flight to Aizawl,” said Dey.

Some of the passengers who had cancelled their tickets had to pay extra to buy new ones. Santosh Moses, an ophthalmologist from Hyderabad, was flying to Shillong through Calcutta for a meeting on Wednesday night. “The flight was cancelled and I had to book a ticket on a private airline flight by spending Rs 2,000 extra,” said Moses.

Ushashi Dutta, a scientist with the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, had come to buy a ticket to Frankfurt through Delhi. “If I don’t get the ticket, I won’t get the visa. But the airline staff here refused to issue a ticket for May 2 because of the strike,” said Dutta. After much pleading, she got a May 5 ticket.

An Air India official said the airline was providing “full refund” to passengers who were cancelling tickets and endorsing others on various airlines.

In an attempt to help the strike-hit fliers, the railways has arranged for a superfast train from Delhi to Sealdah on Thursday. “A lot of people have been stuck in Delhi because of the Air India pilots’ strike. The train will help clear the rush,” said an Eastern Railway spokesperson. The train will reach Sealdah on Friday and leave for Delhi the day after.