Angry Passengers, Hapless Ground Crew: How The Vistara Saga Is Playing Out

After 35–50 flights across India were cancelled on Monday, customers of Vistara were fuming on social media about their abysmal experience. While some chose to express their displeasure with messages about their flights, others were recording arguments with the ground staff at airports.

Late Monday evening, Vistara said that it was facing operational disruptions owing to high cancellations of flights. The airline said that it would reduce flight operations and deploy larger planes to manage the problems. Moreover, the airline said that it would offer alternative flight options or refunds to affected customers.

While the airline did not disclose why it was facing operational issues, NDTV Profit reported that this was likely due to a revised pay structure that the airline offered to its pilots.

The new pay structure, which came ahead of Vistara's merger with Air India, asked pilots to agree to showing up for at least 15 days of work in a month to be eligible for 40 hours of fly time. This was significantly lower than what pilots were used to getting.

While first officers were promised a one-time bonus of Rs 3.5 lakh, captains were offered Rs 4.5 lakh. Pilots who refused to sign on to the new structure were told that they would not be included in the transition to Air India.

This caused multiple pilots to call in sick, leading to repeated flight delays and cancellations.

As the airline tries to manage the high flight cancellation rate, customers at major airports continue to suffer.