April 02 (Punjab Khabarnama) : With more than 100 flights cancelled and delayed in the past few days, Vistara Airlines has suffered severe operational disruption allegedly due to an ongoing pilots’ protest. The issue had caused major controversy on X after several passengers sought government intervention, citing inconvenience.
Vistara has accepted “crew unavailability” as the reason for this operational disruption and said that it is working to resolve the issue. The Centre, meanwhile, has sought a report from the airline on the matter.
Here’s a look at what we know about the issue so far:
What is reason behind Vistara flight disruptions?
Vistara has cited “crew unavailability” as one of the reasons for the recent disruptions and said its teams are working to stabilise the situation.
“We have had a significant number of flight cancellations and delays in the past few days due to various reasons including crew unavailability. 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. We have decided to temporarily reduce the number of flights we operate, to ensure adequate connectivity across our network,” a Vistara spokesperson said.
“We have also deployed larger aircraft like our B787-9 Dreamliner and A321neo on select domestic routes to combine flights or accommodate more number of customers, wherever possible. Furthermore, we are offering alternate flight options or refunds to affected customer, as applicable. Once again, we understand that these disruptions have caused immense discomfort to our customers, and sincerely apologise to them for the same. We are working towards stabilizing the situation and will resume operating our regular capacity very soon,” the Spokesperson added.
The Indian Express had reported that pilots of Vistara are not reporting to work to register their protest against the new pay structure that follows after merger with Tata group’s another flagship carrier – Air India.
Vistara had said the disruption could not be attributed to pilot absenteeism alone, but also due to unforeseen maintenance needs, Reuters reported.
Why are the Vistara pilots protesting?
A number of Vistara pilots had called in sick in the first week of March as well that led to Vistara’s flight operations from two major cities, Delhi and Mumbai airports, being impacted. Later in March, Vistara management is learnt to have given an ultimatum to accept the new pay structure, or give up the one-time payout and also the opportunity to work with Air India post its merger.
Under the ongoing consolidation process, the merger is set to take place in 2025. The Tata group is already in the process of merging its low-cost carriers Air India Express and AIX Connect (formerly Air Asia India)
What is new pay structure for Vistara pilots?
According to the new pay structure for Vistara pilots announced in February, the new pay structure will substantially reduce the minimum guaranteed flying allowance of Vistara pilots. Once implemented, the Vistara pilots will be eligible for guaranteed pay for 40 hours, down from the 70 hours in their earlier contracts which could lead to a notable cut in their take-home salaries.
What is Centre doing on the issue?
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has sought a detailed report from Vistara regarding flight cancellations and major delays.
“We have sought a detailed report from Vistara regarding flight cancellations and delays,” a senior official told Reuters. The aviation ministry has been flooded with complaints regarding Vistara flight cancellations and delays across the country.
The ministry clarified on X, “Ministry of Civil Aviation is monitoring the situation of Vistara flight cancellations. However, flight operations are managed by Airlines themselves. Airlines have to comply with DGCA norms to ensure passenger facilitation in case of cancellation or delay of flights.”