In what may be a holiday spoiler for many travelers during the summer holiday season, Tata Group’s Vistara has announced its decision to cut 10% flights. The airline has already been facing disruptions due to non-availability of crew.

Vistara’s latest decision will largely impact domestic travelers as most of the flights cut are on the domestic routes. You may be wondering as to why the airline has taken this decision at a time when demand for domestic flights are expected to jump.

In FY 2024-25, the domestic air passenger traffic is expected to increase by 8-13 per cent to around 150-155 million. The expected surge in passenger traffic in the current fiscal will be higher that the pre-COVID levels of 141.2 million.

Well, the airline has issued a statement sharing the decision to cut 10 percent of its capacity or 25-30 flights on a daily basis. The main reason behind this decision is non-availability of crew members. With its latest decision, the airline is hoping to achieve “much-needed resilience and buffer in the rosters”.

Also Read : Soon, Club Vistara to Merge With Air India’s Flying Returns Program 

So what happened to the crew members? Where have they disappeared?

Well, believe it or not, many pilots of Vistara reported sick recently, causing disruptions to the day-to-day functioning of the airline, according to this report. The airline is now decreasing flights to the same level they were at two months back, i.e. February 2024.

But there might be more behind the troubles at Vistara than illness. Some pilots of the airline are said to be worried about changes to their pay before the expected merger of Vistara with Air India. There is another report that says discontent is mounting among Vistara pilots over the issues of “inhumane” rostering and pay cuts.

The airline is said to be having about 1000 pilots out of total 6500 employees. The cut in number of flights is expected to help the airline manage its schedules better but it’s certainly not a good news for flyers.

Also Read: SpiceJet Withdraws Plea; High Court Grants Extension to Return Leased Assets

What happens to flight passengers?

The airline has said it is allotting tickets in other flights to passengers who have been affected by the reduction of daily flights. Even as passengers, who had earlier booked Vistara’s flights, may not be affected by Vistara Flight Cut, others are likely to be affected. Why?

Well, the unavailability of Vistara flights is likely to make ticket prices soar on some routes due to high demand during upcoming summer holidays. Moreover, the decision is set to further worsen the demand-supply mismatch of domestic airlines on many routes. Earlier, around 80 flights of Indigo were grounded while GoAir and SpiceJet are already operating fewer flights.

You should always be prepared for unexpected expenses. Learn the art and science of doing that with The 1% Club. Details here