Mumbai, May 19 -- At least 36 flights flying out of Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Monday were delayed after a silent agitation by around 100 ground staff turned into a full-fledged protest, impacting all departure flights. The protest was carried out by employees of AI Air Services Limited (AIASL), a government-owned ground handling agency that provides services not only to Air India and Air India Express but also to over 70 foreign airlines operating out of Mumbai. The protestors were demanding permanent employment, among other things. Air India has around 120 daily departures from Mumbai, of which at least 25 were delayed due to the protest, an airline official said. An official said the chaos led to significant disruption in baggage handling for AIASL-managed flights. "Baggage of 39 flights (six international and 33 domestic) was delayed," the official said. "A total of 36 departure flights and five arrival flights were delayed due to the protest, which lasted for around 90 minutes. However, alternative ground handling support to airlines was arranged wherever feasible," he said. "The disruption had a cascading effect on turnaround times, impacting aircraft handling, baggage services and boarding processes," he added. An Air India spokesperson said the "industrial action" by employees of a third-party ground handling agency at the Mumbai airport had impacted the operations of Air India Express and Air India. "Our airport teams are working closely with all stakeholders to minimise inconvenience to guests and restore normal operations at the earliest," the spokesperson said. Rambabu, chief executive officer (CEO) of AIASL, told HT that the issue escalated when some employees who were on duty also left their work and joined the protest around 11am. He insisted the protest ended in 30 minutes. "It was meant to be a silent protest only, and it started affecting operations only when some on-duty employees joined. Initially, the protest was expected to continue from 11am to 1pm, but we spoke to both employees and union members, and assured them that we were available for discussions. By 11.30am, we intervened and spoke to everyone. They agreed to return to work immediately to avoid inconveniencing passengers. However, by the time they resumed work, there were some delays, resulting in a backlog," said Rambabu. "One of the key demands was job permanency. The rest were relatively smaller issues," he added. "We have already addressed most of their concerns and will review any fresh requests as well. Within our means, we will ensure these are looked into," Rambabu added....