Amidst turmoil, Vistara, grappling with crew shortages and protests over wage adjustments, faces an escalation in flight cancellations. The count of grounded flights, standing at 50 on Monday, is anticipated to surge to 70 on Tuesday, according to informed sources.
As the crisis intensifies, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has requested an exhaustive report from Vistara concerning the surge in flight cancellations and significant delays. This request follows a week where the airline has canceled or delayed over 100 flights. Simultaneously, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has mandated Vistara to furnish daily reports on flight cancellations and delays, monitoring the situation to mitigate passenger inconvenience.
This action is prompted by the scarcity of pilots, compelling Vistara to cancel a substantial number of flights in recent days. The DGCA, in a statement on Tuesday, underscored its demand for daily updates from Vistara regarding flight disruptions.
DGCA officials are overseeing operations to ensure adherence to passenger service standards in cases of flight cancellations and delays, aiming to minimize passenger inconvenience.
In response to mounting cancellations and delays, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has requested a detailed report from Vistara, following the airline’s announcement of a reduction in flights due to over 100 cancellations and delays in the past week.
Vistara has faced considerable turbulence in recent days, resulting in over 100 flight cancellations and delays, drawing criticism from passengers.
“We acknowledge and are deeply concerned about the inconvenience this has caused to our customers. Having said that, our teams are working towards minimizing the discomfort to the customers,” stated a Vistara spokesperson.
The spokesperson elaborated, “We have opted to temporarily scale back our flight operations to ensure adequate network connectivity. Additionally, we have deployed larger aircraft such as the B787-9 Dreamliner and A321neo on select domestic routes to consolidate flights or accommodate more passengers, where feasible.”
What plagues Vistara?
Vistara, poised for a merger with Tata-backed Air India, encountered similar disruptions last month. In early March, numerous pilots protested against revised contracts resulting from the impending merger by taking sick leave.
This protest has left the airline with fewer pilots, exacerbating cancellations and disruptions. Under the new salary structure, Vistara pilots will receive a fixed salary for 40 hours of flying time, down from the current 70 hours. Despite efforts to stabilize the situation, the spokesperson did not disclose the extent of flight cancellations.
The airline expressed regret for the disruptions and assured efforts to restore regular operations promptly. Pilot issues have persisted since the revision in monthly emoluments for first officers of its A320 fleet following the signing of new contracts.
“We are working towards stabilizing the situation and will resume operating at our regular capacity very soon,” the spokesperson added, apologizing for the inconvenience.
