Vistara was plagued with pilot woes that impacted its flight operations at Delhi and Mumbai airports that led to the cancellation and delay of many flights on Wednesday. The full-service carrier that operates more than 300 flights daily with a fleet of 67 planes did not issue a statement on the issue.
While specific details are unavailable, it is believed that a combination of factors led to the pilot issues. Sources told new agency PTI that some pilots reported sick, impacting the schedule, while there are also concerns among the pilots regarding the new salary structure, which would be the same as that of Air India.
Moreover the situation has been aggravated by the seasonal phenomenon of the crew exhausting their sick leaves as the financial year is coming to a close. Sources revealed to the news agency that traffic congestion at the Mumbai airport and weather disruptions have resulted in flight delays and cancellations.
Vistara, a joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines is part of the conglomerate’s aviation business that includes Air India, Air India Express, and AIX Connect, apart from Vistara.
The Tata Group has plans to merge Vistara with Air India to have one full-service carrier. Singapore Airlines that holds 49 per cent would dilute its stake in Vistara. It would invest Rs 2,059 crore to get 25.1 per cent in the merged Air India. The consolidation of the carriers is expected to complete in March. The merger has received conditional approval by Singapore’s competition watchdog, Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore.