Vistara hit with pilots sick leave, flight operations impacted

Vistara was plagued with sudden mass sick leave reported by pilots that impacted its flight operations across India leading to the cancellation and delay of flights. The delay was also caused due to the mandatory maintenance requirements for some aircraft and other operational reasons.

As of now, over a dozen flights have been cancelled, and a large number of Vistara flights have been delayed for over a week. The airline company has acknowledged the delays and flight cancellations that have persisted for several days.

"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 on a few days, air traffic congestion and other routine operational constraints. 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 our manpower planning, it has added to the reasons contributing to the disruptions," a Vistara spokesperson said. "Having said that, 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 outside of our control," a Vistara spokesperson added.

When asked, several pilots expressed dissatisfaction following the merger order, citing concerns about pay parity issues arising soon after the process of merger with Air India. However, a Vistara official denies these claims, stating that, "they are not true." Later, in an official statement, a Vistara spokesperson emphasised that flight delays and cancellations are not solely due to pilot shortages but also other issues.

"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," Vistara said in a statement. As March approaches and with the new financial year starting in April, a significant number of pilots have reported sick, as they want to utilize their pending leaves and avoid losing them.

Angry passengers and flyers are expressing frustration on social media about multiple flight delays and the company's failure to provide accurate schedules and reasons for the delays. Many passengers have tagged the aviation minister, urging them to investigate the issue. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore announced on Tuesday that it has approved the merger between Air India and Vistara, the joint venture of Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, subject to specified terms.