Business News
4 min read | Updated on April 02, 2024, 14:19 IST
SUMMARY
A Vistara spokesperson said flight cancellations and delays are a result of “various reasons including crew unavailability”. While the airline did not share the reason behind their unavailability, reports said that pilots and crew members have taken sick leaves en masse to protest against the company’s decision to revise their pay structure.
Vistara said it is working towards stabilising the situation. (Image: X/DDNews)
Vistara, the private carrier jointly owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, has cancelled several of its scheduled flights citing the shortage of crew members and pilots. The cancellations have propelled the Centre to step in, with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) reportedly seeking a report from the airline.
The aviation company, while acknowledging the disruption of its services, said it would be deploying large aircraft including the wide-body Boeing 787 Dreamliner and A321neo on select domestic routes to "to accommodate more passengers, wherever possible".
A Vistara spokesperson told publications that the flight cancellations and delays are a result of “various reasons including crew unavailability”. While the company did not share the reason behind their unavailability, reports said that pilots and crew members have taken sick leaves en masse.
The purpose behind their absence from work is to protest against the company’s decision to revise their pay structures, several reports claimed.
Vistara, which is bound to be merged with another Tata Group airline Air India, will reportedly adopt the pay structure of the latter for its employees.
This has drawn dissent from the pilots, as this would reduce their take-home pay, the report added.
The newspaper further reported that pilots are also concerned about the impact of the Air India-Vistara merger on their seniority. In the aviation industry, the seniority of a pilot is determined by an array of factors, including the tenure spent with a specific airline.
"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," it added.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked Vistara to submit daily information and details on the flights that are being cancelled and delayed. The regulator also told the airline to comply with the norms related to flight cancellations and delays, in order to minimise the inconvenience caused to passengers.
A Vistara spokesperson told publications that the airline is providing the affected passengers with refunds or alternative flight options. In some cases, it is also trying to accommodate the stranded passengers on the larger widebody aircraft, which it is deploying on select routes.
The airline said it “sincerely apologises” for disruptions, and is working towards stabilising the situation. The flight operations at regular capacity “will resume very soon”, the spokesperson was reported as saying.
About The Author
Next Story