Private airlines called off their proposed strike on August 18. The Federation of Indian Airlines made no mention on its website of the strike or it being called off. A Reuters report quoted a statement by FIA saying that the airlines were calling off the strike as the government had asked them to come for talks. And they wanted to avoid inconveniencing passengers.
This is in contrast to the televised press conference, where the owners said that talks have been going on for long. And, that they had no option but to go on strike. Now, they are back to square one, with their egos crushed, having had to withdraw their strike with none of their demands being considered, leave alone being accepted. The Economic Times also reported in today’s edition that airlines like IndiGo and Spicejet had earlier withdrawn their support to the strike.