Vistara, one of India’s major airlines, continues to struggle with a major pilot shortage, leading to the cancellation of at least 38 flights today from major cities across the country.
According to reports, the impacted cities include Mumbai with 15 cancellations, Delhi with 12, and Bengaluru with 11.
This comes after a cancellation of 50 flights yesterday and 160 delays.
Passengers have expressed frustration over the lack of communication and extended waiting times at airports, criticising Vistara for the inconvenience caused.
According to an NDTV report, Vistara issued a statement acknowledging the disruptions, saying that they were caused due to “various reasons including crew unavailability.”
The airline responded to the inconvenience caused to its customers, saying, “Our teams are working towards minimising the discomfort to the customers.”
As the crisis continues, Vistara has announced temporary reductions in flight operations “to ensure adequate connectivity across our network.”
The airline has deployed larger aircraft, such as the B787-9 Dreamliner and A321neo, on select domestic routes to accommodate more passengers.
Apart from that, Vistara is offering alternate flight options or refunds to affected customers.
Behind the scenes, Vistara pilots are reportedly calling in sick as a protest against a revised salary structure introduced ahead of the airline’s planned merger with Air India.
According to reports, the pilots received the revised pay structure via email and were given a short notice to sign it.
Those who refuse to sign have been warned that they might be excluded from the upcoming merger.
There have been thousands of customers inconvenienced by flight cancellations and delays as a result of the ongoing pilot protest, which is thought to be a major contributing factor to the present pilot shortage issue.
Despite this, Vistara says that the delays are due to “operational issues” and assures the public that corrective measures are underway.
With the uncertainty surrounding flight operations, Vistara has advised passengers to check their flight status with the airline before heading to the airport to avoid long waits and inconvenience.
