Vistara may see 70 more flight cancellations today amid crew shortage

Vistara may cancel some 70 flights on Tuesday after calling off nearly 50 a day before when several pilots took sick leave, news agency PTI reported quoting sources in the airline.

The airline had to reschedule flights too on Monday. “We have had a significant number of flight cancellations and delays in the past few days due to various reasons, including crew unavailability,” said a spokesperson for the airline in a statement.

Vistara, which is owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, had to utilise the wide-body Boeing 787 Dreamliner, “to accommodate more passengers, wherever feasible,” said the spokesperson.

Vistara set to merge with Air India

The Gurugram-based airline, which is set to merge with Tata-owned Air India, faced similar action by pilots last month as well. In early March, several pilots took sick leave as a form of protest against the revised contracts resulting from the merger.

Amid the disruptions, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has sought a detailed report from Vistara regarding cancellations and major delays, a senior official said.

‘Business Standard’ earlier reported that a new structure would offer Vistara pilots a fixed salary for 40 hours of flying time instead of the 70 hours now. Additionally, pilots will be compensated for extra flying hours and will earn an additional amount as a reward based on their years of service with the airline.

A week ago industry regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation deferred its June 1 deadline for airlines to implement new rules on rest and duty time for pilots.

First Published: Apr 02 2024 | 10:27 AM IST

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