For non-VSAM files, alias names can be used interchangeably with the true file name except on remove (rm and rmdir) and rename (mv) requests. Renaming or removing an alias name results in an I/O error. This is due to an MVS restriction.

If the true name of an MVS file is renamed or removed and alias names have been defined for the file, MVS deletes the alias names during execution of the rename or remove request.