Aviation regulator directs Vistara to submit daily report on flight cancellations, delays

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday directed Vistara to submit a daily report on its flight cancellations and delays. The move came a day after Vistara was forced to cut a number of flights as it was dealing with a shortage of pilots and crew.

In view of the latest disruptions at the airline, the DGCA said it would continue to monitor the situation at the private carrier to ensure minimum inconvenience to passengers. 

The flight disruptions at Vistara follow the deferment of a June 1 deadline for airlines by the DGCA to adopt new rules on rest and duty times for pilots, a step that has drawn criticism from some pilots and aviation safety experts.

"We have had a significant number of flight cancellations and delays in the past few days due to various reasons including crew unavailability," a Vistara spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.

Vistara, owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, is using larger aircraft, including the wide-body Boeing 787 Dreamliner on certain domestic routes "to accommodate more passengers, wherever possible", the spokesperson added.

Vistara, which is in the process of getting merged with the Tata group-owned Air India, also faced similar disruptions last month.

With inputs from agencies