Vistara cancels several flights after pilots protest over new pay structure

The Tata Group airline Vistara is facing a crisis and has temporarily cut down its daily flight schedule in addition to using larger aircraft on specific domestic routes to combine flights. The steps were taken after many of its flights were cancelled and delayed on Monday due to a protest by its pilots.

Industry insiders claim that several Vistara pilots skipped work on Monday, presumably in protest of the new wage scale that mirrors that of Air India, the flagship airline of the Tata group. Vistara and Air India are set to merge and form a single entity.

The details of flight tracking revealed that till 10 pm on Monday, almost 60 of the airline’s over 300 daily flights were cancelled, and another 180 were delayed. There were a few delays and cancellations by Vistara over the weekend too.

Several travelers criticized the airline and voiced complaints about inadequate communication and lengthy waits at the airport.

In a statement released on Monday, Vistara claimed that “many reasons, including crew unavailability,” have resulted in a “significant number” of flight cancellations and delays over the last several days.

“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 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 customers, 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,” a statement by Vistara said.

It has been reported that Vistara pilots are refusing to work as they oppose the new pay scale which is the same as that of Air India. The pilots have received the updated pay schedule by mail and are required to sign it immediately. The pilots have been informed that they will not be included in the merger if they choose not to sign.

Travelers have flocked to social media to voice their complaints over having their flights canceled or delayed by many hours. The airline has repeatedly stated that it is addressing the operational problems that are causing the delays.

According to a senior source who spoke to news agency ANI, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has requested a thorough report from Vistara regarding flight cancellations and significant delays.