New Delhi:

Vistara hinted that the crisis might be over and said flight schedules were expected to return to normal over the weekend, hours after pilots pointed to fatigue issues that could have a direct impact on safety. “The pilots were flying close to the maximum flight duty limit. This led to serious health problems and everyone was often sick,” the source said.

Vistara airlines have seen a surge in flight cancellations due to a pilot shortage. A growing number of pilots are calling in sick to protest against the full-service airline’s revised pay structure ahead of its merger with Tata-owned Air India.

However, the source denied there was a “co-ordination and mass sick leave”.

“Everyone is tired of flying. The new FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitation) rules should have given us some relief, but as expected, that has not happened either,” they added.

Last week, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) postponed the implementation of the revised flight duty regulations for pilots that were scheduled to take effect from June 1. The revised code has reportedly been delayed for some time to allow for wider consultation.

The new regulations provide pilots with more rest time and seek to alleviate pilot fatigue.

Senior airline officials, including CEO Vinod Kannan and senior members of his management team, held a virtual town hall meeting with striking pilots on Wednesday night to discuss new contracts and rostering issues.

Company sources said pilots have been allowed to correct course to address concerns following the merger with Air India. This will include improved growth potential once the merger is complete and a better roster of pilots, expected in May, sources said.

Pilot sources stated that serious health problems arose due to “flying within the maximum duty limits”: “Everyone is constantly sick. The pilots have exceeded the maximum sick leave period in a year, which ultimately resulted in unpaid leave”.

They also criticized the airline for “trusting the software more than the pilots.” “Pilots have been complaining to management about fatigue. Management relies on the Boeing Alert Model (BAM) and says flying is safe, so you should have nothing to complain about. They trust the software more than the pilots,” he said.

They said everyone was “furious about the new contract but we all knew it was coming sooner or later”.

Previously, company sources said almost 100% of pilots had accepted the new contract. They added that the pilots did not protest during the virtual town hall.

The airline said on Monday it had been forced to cut some flights due to a pilot shortage and was using some larger aircraft to “accommodate more passengers.”

Vistara sources said only 24 flights were canceled on Wednesday, compared with 52 flights the previous day

Pilots have been complaining about a reduction in their cost to company (CTC) under the new contract, which requires them to fly 40 hours instead of the previous 70 hours. However, sources said that under the new structure, pilots would be incentivized to fly more and earn more than before.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation said yesterday it was monitoring developments, while aviation regulators sought daily information from Vistara about flight disruptions.