Vistara may see 70 more flight cancellations today amid crew shortage

Vistara airline, which is set to merge with Air India, is witnessing protests from pilots over revised salary contracts

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.