Vistara Likely To Resume Normal Operations This Weekend, CEO Agrees To Address Crew Burnout
After days of widespread flight cancellation and delays, Tata Group and Singapore Airlines-owned Vistara is likely to resume normal operations this weekend.
Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan on Wednesday met pilots who had kept away from duty to protest the terms of a new contract following the airline's decision to merge with Air India.
This had resulted in the airline canceling as many as 125 flights since April 1.
CEO acknowledged flaws in rostering
In the meeting, Kannan reportedly acknowledged flaws in its pilot rostering system, leading to crew unavailability and subsequent flight disruption.
He also assured the pilots of a more humane utilisation of their time, addressing concerns about standby duties that encroached upon personal time.
Currently, pilots find themselves on standby almost constantly when not actively flying, a practice the management concedes is "faulty" rostering.
"Vistara CEO Vinod Kanan requested pilots to support for smooth operations," an airline official said.
Less flights to reduce pilot workload?
To rectify the situation, Vistara plans to scale back its flight schedule, reducing daily flights from the current 320-330 to ensure better management of its pilot resources.
This adjustment is expected to take effect as early as next month, aiming to restore schedule integrity and minimise disruptions.
Salary revision yet to be addressed?
However, with Vistara's impending merger into Air India later this year, challenges continue to persist.
"The issue of pay cuts looms over pilots, as aligning pay structures between the two airlines remains unresolved," the official added.
In a statement earlier this week, the airline blamed the cancellations on various reasons including availability of crew. It has deployed its Boeing widebody jets on some domestic routes to minimise disruptions.
According to Kannan, the shortage was mainly triggered by many pilots having reached their flight duty time limit, and not just because of the high amount of sick leave.
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