A Vistara Airbus A320 passenger aircraft. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Vistara has cancelled nearly 1,000 flights for the month of April in order to ensure stability in its operations, which saw a massive disruption last week over hectic rosters for pilots and unrest from a section of cockpit crew over pay cuts.
“We are carefully scaling back our operations by around 25-30 flights per day, that is, roughly 10% of the capacity we were operating,” a Vistara spokesperson said in a statement.
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The move will provide a much needed buffer to the airline in pilot rosters.
The airline said that the cancellations will mostly affect domestic flights and have been implemented much ahead of time to minimise inconvenience to passengers.
“All the affected passengers have already been re-accommodated on other flights,” the airline added.
Vistara has also deployed bigger Airbus A321 and Boeing 787 aircraft on domestic routes to accommodate more number of passengers and has also been booking its customers on other airlines. Air India will also be sending nearly 20 First Officers on deputation to support Vistara. Six Airbus A320s of Vistara are also being shifted to Air India Express to improve the aircraft and manpower ratio.
The cancellations are expected to push up airfares during the peak summer travel season in a market that is already grappling with nearly 200 aircraft grounded due to engine issues, out of which IndiGo alone has over 70 non-operational planes.
