Vistara to temporarily reduce flights on non-availability of crew

'We have decided to temporarily reduce the number of flights we operate to ensure adequate connectivity across our network,' the airline spokesperson said in a statement.

Vistara will temporarily reduce flight operations due to non-availability of pilots that resulted in nearly 50 flight cancellations on Monday, according to sources.

More number of flights are expected to be cancelled on Tuesday and the number could go up to 70, the sources in the know said.

The full-service carrier has been grappling with the issue of first officers of its A320 fleet reporting sick in the last few weeks to protest against reduction in their emoluments due to new contracts, the sources added.

A Vistara spokesperson said the airline had a significant number of flight cancellations and delays in the past few days due to various reasons, including crew unavailability.

"We have decided to temporarily reduce the number of flights we operate to ensure adequate connectivity across our network," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Besides this, the airline said it was deploying larger aircraft on select domestic routes, and providing alternative flight options or refunds to affected customers.

"We have had a significant number of flight cancellations and delays in the past few days due to various reasons including crew unavailability. We acknowledge and are deeply concerned about the inconvenience this has caused to our customers," read a tweet by the airlines.

Their post on X added, "Having said that, our teams are working towards minimizing the discomfort to the customers. We have decided to temporarily reduce the number of flights we operate, to ensure adequate connectivity across our network. We have also deployed larger aircraft like our B787-9 Dreamliner and A321neo on select domestic routes to combine flights or accommodate more number of customers, wherever possible."

"Furthermore, we are offering alternate flight options or refunds to affected customer, as applicable. Once again, we understand that these disruptions have caused immense discomfort to our customers, and sincerely apologise to them for the same. We are working towards stabilizing the situation and will resume operating our regular capacity very soon," the statement from the company read.