The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has requested a comprehensive report from Vistara concerning the cancellation and significant delays of over 100 flights in the previous week.
The Ministry of Aviation has received numerous complaints about Vistara’s flight cancellations and delays nationwide. A senior official from the Ministry of Civil Aviation stated, “We have sought a detailed report from Vistara regarding flight cancellations and delays.”
Over the past week, Vistara Airlines has experienced significant operational disruptions, with over 100 flights being cancelled or delayed. The airline has acknowledged the issue and stated that its teams are actively working to stabilize the situation, attributing the disruptions to a range of operational factors.
“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,” said a Vistara spokesperson.
“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.”- Vistara Spokesperson,” the statement added.
According to aviation sources, the situation escalated when pilots declined to operate flights, citing extended duty hours and a reduction in flying hours. In early March, flight operations of Vistara at Delhi and Mumbai airports faced disruptions primarily due to pilot shortages.
The airline, which is undergoing a merger with Air India following its privatisation, saw numerous passengers voicing their concerns on social media and reporting the issues to the ministry and regulatory bodies.