Vistara pilots sought sick leave en masse, leading to severe operational issues at the Tata Group-owned airline. The move led to 35–50 flights being disrupted as pilots were not available. This was prompted by a revised salary system the airline was trying to implement ahead of its merger with Air India, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Pilots were sent an email on March 15 asking them to sign up for a new pay structure, according to one of the persons quoted above. The pilots were asked to accept the pay structure the same day. NDTV Profit has reviewed a copy of the email.
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The structure required pilots to show up to work for at least 15 days in a month to be eligible for 40 hours of flytime in their pay, the person quoted above said. This was significantly lower than what they were presently getting, the second person quoted above said.
If they were to sign up for the revised structure, a first officer would get a bonus of Rs 3.5 lakh, while captains were assured Rs 4.5 lakh.
In its email to pilots, Vistara said that those who do not sign up for the new pay structure would not be allocated a slot on the upgrade sequence list. They would also not be eligible for the one-time bonus promised to pilots.
Moreover, such pilots will be deemed to not be interested in working with Air India. "Consequently, they will not be included in the transition to AI," Vistara said in its email.
Following the receipt of this email, multiple pilots reported being sick for duty, the first person quoted above said. Nearly 20–25 Vistara pilots from Delhi have reported sick for their duty, this person added.
At present, owing to the disruption, pilots are being pulled in with notice as short as two hours. Pilots not on standby duties are also being pulled in for work, which is a major safety concern, the first person said.
In a statement on Monday, Vistara said that it was cancelling some flights and also deploying larger planes to manage the operational issues. Along with this, the airline is also offering alternate flight arrangements or refunds to the affected customers, it said.
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