FILE PHOTO: A Vistara Airbus A320 passenger aircraft prepares to land at Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport in Mumbai, India, July 11, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
| Photo Credit: FRANCIS MASCARENHAS
Enroute its merger with Air India, discontent among pilots who abstained from reporting to work forced Vistara to cancel at least 49 flights across its network.
Following this development, the airline announced that it had decided to temporarily reduce the number of flights it operates.
“We have had a significant number of flight cancellations and delays in the past few days due to various reasons including crew unavailability… We are working towards stabilizing the situation and will resume operating our regular capacity very soon,“ the airline said in its first-ever statement on the issue, which has been simmering over since mid-February resulting in 10-15 cancellations daily along with delays.
It added that it was also deploying the bigger Boeing 787-9 and A321 neo aircraft on domestic routes to accommodate passengers impacted by these cancellations.
The airline said that it will also offer alternate flight options and refunds to affected customers.
A silent protest from unhappy pilots, a manpower constraint that has left the airline without a pilot buffer, and poor roster planning are said to be behind the cancellations, according to industry sources.
In February, the airline announced a new pay structure for its pilots, which was also implemented in Air India last year. This would offer only a guaranteed pay of 40 hours of flying, instead of the existing 70 hours. The new structure left the First Officers deeply aggrieved as it resulted in a pay cut of ₹80,000 to ₹1.4 lakh.
The issue of Air India and Vistara merger is expected to come before the National Company Law Tribunal on April 5.
