Vistara slashes flights by 10%, majority of cancellations impact domestic routes

Vistara, the full-service carrier, has announced a reduction in its flight capacity by 10 percent, equivalent to around 25-30 flights per day, in efforts to stabilize its operations amidst pilot-related challenges. Originally scheduled to operate over 300 flights daily in the summer schedule commencing on March 31, the airline aims to achieve operational stability by April.

"We are carefully scaling back our operations by around 25-30 flights per day, i.e. roughly 10 percent of the capacity we were operating. This will take us back to the same level of flight operations as at the end of February 2024, and provide the much-needed resilience and buffer in the rosters," stated an airline spokesperson.

The cancellations primarily affect the domestic network and have been executed well in advance to minimize inconvenience for passengers. The airline assures that all affected passengers have been re-accommodated on alternative flights. Notably, the on-time performance has shown improvement following these adjustments.

Earlier in the week, a significant number of flights were canceled due to a considerable number of pilots calling in sick. Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan attributed the flight disruptions to stretched rosters. Additionally, certain segments of pilots have expressed concerns regarding a new contract that entails pay revisions preceding the airline's proposed merger with Air India.