Vistara Reduces 25-30 Flights Daily To Ease Pressure On Pilots (Photo on X Vistara @airvistara)
Vistara airline, the Tata-owned carrier, is reportedly cutting 25 to 30 daily flights (10 percent) in April to normalise the operation following the recent disruptions. The decision came after 150 Vistara flights were cancelled in the first week of April because of the non-availability of pilots due to their dissatisfaction with rosters and revised salary structure.
Notably, the flight cancellations are mostly in the domestic network of Vistara. The airline operates a total of 300 flights daily and around 1000 pilots are on its rolls. Following the crisis, the passengers have been affected with flight delay and non-availability. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had sought a detailed report from Vistara earlier this week.
DGCA had amended the flight duty time limitation norms for pilots of Indian airlines to ensure a more flexible rostering. However, the amendment intended to improve the well-being of pilots was postponed by the authorities following the opposition of airlines. The airlines had argued that the implementation of the new norms would raise their pilot”s requirements and hence cause additional wages, leading to the deferment.
The airline’s pilots had flagged issues such as work-life balance- fatigue and low payment. The pilot’s concerns resulted in their non-availability disrupting the flight schedule and forcing the airline to cut back on flights. Notably, the pilots from other airlines have also supported Vistara counterparts, raising the exploitative work practices in airlines including IndiGo and Air India.
Reportedly, Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan recently said that 98 percent of its pilots have signed a new contract with the revised salary structure. The CEO added that he is aware of the pilots’ concerns and is engaging with them to resolve the issue. The revised salary plan provides a fixed payment for 40 hours of flight time, with an extra compensation for additional hours and a service-based bonus. With this, the airline is learnt to partially addressed the pilots” concerns.
The airline had apologised to passengers for the disruptions and claimed that it rebooked on other flights for the affected passengers. Vistara is reportedly slated to merge with Air India by 2025.
