Expect normalcy by May: Vistara CEO

FULL-SERVICE CARRIER Vistara expects operations to normalise by May as the flight disruptions, mainly caused by a stretched roster for pilots, are getting addressed, its CEO Vinod Kannan said on Friday. He also said the concerns raised by the pilots are being reviewed and discussed by the airline.

- MANOJ RAMMOHAN

The Tata Group airline cancelled many flights earlier this week due to the non-availability of pilots and has also been forced to temporarily reduce the overall flight operations in order to stabilise the situation. The carrier cancelled more than 125 flights over three days from April 1.

In an interview on Friday, Kannan said the need to cancel flights at short notice will not happen after this weekend as the buffer situation for pilots is stabilising. "It might be a reduced schedule. We are back to normal as far as the flights that are operating. The need to cancel flights at short notice will not happen after this weekend," he said.

According to him, the buffer situation in terms of pilots is stabilising and there is no cause for concern about last-minute flight cancellations. "From Monday, whatever flights are in the system, they should be operating," Kannan said as he sought to assure travellers that flights will not be cancelled at the last minute.