Vistara Acknowledges Flight Disruptions, Cites 'Crew Unavailability' For Delays and Cancellations

New Delhi: Vistara Airlines, jointly owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines (SIA), has been under scanner for quite a few days owing to flight cancellations and delays. On Monday, the airlines released a statement confirming the inconvenience caused and assured that teams are diligently working to restore stability to the situation.

Vistara attributed the frequent delays and cancellations of flights to 'crew unavailability' and announced temporary reductions in the number of flights to ensure sufficient connectivity across their network.

"We confirm that we have had a number of flight cancellations and unavoidable delays in the last few days due to various operational reasons. Our teams are tirelessly working to stabilising the situation. We regret the inconvenience caused to our valued customers due to these disruptions," the airlines said in an official statement.

"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," the statement read further.

It added,"We are offering alternate flight options or refunds to affected customers, 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 stabilising the situation and will resume operating our regular capacity very soon."

Taking to X, several passengers narrated their ordeal. Among irate passengers was former Infosys Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mohandas Pai. "@airvistara service sucks. 20mts before departure from BLR to AHMEDABAD . -10-30 am, they change the time of D to 1200 noon. No prior notice. Why did @vistara not message the delay? Terrible service, no announcement, no clarity," Pai wrote on X.

Last month, the airline encountered a comparable crisis when flight operations were disrupted at Delhi and Mumbai airports, primarily due to the unavailability of pilots.