Vistara rejects reports its pilot woes disrupted flight operations

Cites bad weather, air traffic congestion among reasons for flight cancellations

The flight cancellations and delays of Vistara in the last few days were due to unfavourable weather, air traffic congestion and unforeseen aircraft maintenance, and cannot be solely attributed to pilot absenteeism, the airline said on Thursday.

The airline's response comes after reports stated that some pilots had gone on sick leave to protest the new salary structure offered to them as part of Vistara's merger with Air India.

“We confirm that we have had a few flight cancellations and unavoidable delays in the last few days. However, we would like to clarify that it cannot be attributed to pilot absenteeism alone. We have witnessed disruption across our network owing to a host of factors like unforeseen maintenance requirements on some aircraft, unfavourable weather in North India for a few days, air traffic congestion and other routine operational constraints," a Vistara spokesperson said.

While there has been no increase in the number of pilots reporting sick and it has remained well within the range that is factored in Vistara's manpower planning, it has added to the reasons contributing to the disruptions, the spokesperson said.

"We are working to maintain our flight schedules and remain committed to offering seamless connectivity to our customers. We regret the inconvenience caused to our valued customers due to reasons beyond our control," the official said.

As part of the new salary structure, Vistara pilots will receive a fixed salary for 40 hours instead of the current 70 hours. Additionally, they 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.

The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) gave its approval to the merger earlier this month. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the merger between the airlines in September 2023.

Vistara is anticipating an operational merger with Air India by mid-2025, in addition to its expectations of receiving legal approvals for it by the middle of the current calendar year, the full-service carrier's CEO Vinod Kannan said at a press briefing in January.