Centre Steps In As Vistara Crisis Deepens With More Delays, Cancellations

At least 38 Vistara flights originating from key cities were cancelled this morning as the airline reeled under non-availability of pilots. As many as 15 flights taking off from Mumbai, 12 from Delhi and 11 from Bengaluru were among those cancelled.

This comes after more than 50 Vistara flights were cancelled yesterday and about 160 delayed. Speaking to NDTV, passengers had yesterday complained of poor communication and hours-long wait at the airport and slammed the airline for harassing passengers.

CIvil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has sought a detailed report from Vistara regarding flight cancellations and major delays. The minister has also asked the airline the steps they are taking to deal with the inconvenience caused to passengers. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has asked Vistara to submit daily details on flight delays and cancellations.  

Vistara said in a statement yesterday that they have faced 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," it said.

The airline has also said that it has decided to temporarily reduce the number of flights it operates "to ensure adequate connectivity across our network".

"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," the statement added.

Vistara pilots, it is learnt, are calling in sick as they protest the revised salary structure ahead of the airline's merger with Air India. The pilots have been sent the revised pay structure over mail and asked to sign on short notice. The pilots have been warned that those who don't sign will be left out of the merger.

Their flights cancelled or delayed by hours, fliers have taken to social media to express their grievances. The airline has been reiterating that the delays have been caused by operational issues and that it is working on them.

Passengers are advised to check flight status with the airline before leaving for the airport to avoid long wait and inconvenience.