New Delhi: Flight operations at Vistara are likely to get back to normal this weekend onwards as the airline’s CEO Vinod Kannan virtually reached out Wednesday to pilots, many of whom are on mass ‘sick leave’.
Kannan acknowledged that there were issues related to stretched working hours and has assured the pilots that the company will tweak the rostering system to make it more relaxed, according to the sources in the know.
If required, the airline may also look at scaling back its network to resolve the issue.
Nearly 100 flights were cancelled in just the first two days of this week, primarily due to shortage of pilots. Industry sources had termed the mass sick leave to be a form of protest by the pilots against the new pay structure implemented by the airline.
However, a Vistara source added that a lot of pilots take their sick leaves in March, as they lapse once the new financial year sets in. The source added that nearly all employees have accepted the terms of the new contract.
“At Vistara, (pilot) utilisation was already high…Sick leave is a norm in March and as the number of pilots on sick leave rose, the rostering system crumbled. This led to working hours being stretched (for pilots on duty) within permissible limits…But clubbed with flight duty time limitations and rest periods, this led to a snowball effect.. leading to flight disruptions,” the source explained.
While Vistara reported cancellations of about 50 flights each on Monday and Tuesday, the number stood at around 25 Wednesday.
With such high flight disruptions, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had stepped in Tuesday asking the Tata Group-backed airlines to submit daily reports on the cancelled and delayed flights.
“In view of the various flight disruptions of Vistara due to various reasons including crew unavailability, DGCA has asked the airline to submit daily information and details on the flights that are being cancelled and delayed,” the DGCA said in a statement.
In a statement Monday, a Vistara spokesperson said, “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.”
The airline had said that it would temporarily reduce the number of flights to ensure adequate connectivity across its network, and has also deployed larger aircraft like the B787-9 Dreamliner and A321neo on select domestic routes to combine flights or accommodate more customers.
“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 stabilising the situation and will resume operating our regular capacity very soon,” the spokesperson had said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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