Vistara scales back flight operations to reduce pilot stress

Vistara said on Sunday it would scale back operations to 25 to 30 flights a day to ease pressure on pilots, stressing that the airline’s on-time performance had improved over the past few days after being hit by delays.

The news comes just a day after the crisis-hit airline’s chief executive said 98% of its pilots had signed new contracts and revised pay structures, leading some of them to call in sick and disrupt flights Cancel.

The airline stressed that cancellations were mostly within its domestic network and were carried out well in advance to minimize inconvenience to passengers.

“We are cautiously reducing our flight numbers to approximately 25-30 flights per day, or approximately 10% of our operating capacity. This will return our flight operating levels to end-February 2024 levels and provide much-needed flexibility in the roster and buffering,” an airline spokesman said.

“As we have said previously, all changes for April 2024 are complete and the situation has improved as our on-time performance has improved over the past few days. Looking ahead, we are hopeful for the remainder of this month and stable operations in the future,” the spokesperson added.

Discontent among Vistara pilots has been simmering in recent weeks as the airline merges with Air India and there are fears the fixed salary component will be reduced and flight-related incentives will increase following the new contract. Salary structure.

The full-service airline experienced significant operational disruptions over the weekend of March 31 to April 1, with many flights canceled. Earlier this week, aviation regulator DGCA asked airlines to submit daily reports on flight cancellations and delays.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation is also monitoring flight cancellations at Vistara Airport, where at least 15 senior first officers recently resigned.

The airline insists it is addressing the issue on a “war footing”.

Vistara is a joint venture between Tatas Airways and Singapore Airlines and has 6,500 employees, including 1,000 pilots and 2,500 cabin crew.

Under the summer flight schedule starting March 31, the airline will operate more than 300 flights per day. It has approximately 800 pilots.