DGCA directs Vistara to submit daily flight disruption reports

New Delhi, April 2 (IANS) In response to the recent surge in flight disruptions by Vistara Airline, a joint venture of Tata and SIA airlines, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), citing various reasons including crew unavailability, has mandated that the airline submit daily reports detailing flights that have been cancelled or delayed.

The airline has also been asked to ensure that the relevant provisions of CAR Section-3, Series M, Part-IV on "facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights" are complied with like advance information, an option of refund, compensation (if applicable) etc. to the passengers, said DGCA Director General Vikram Dev Dutt.

"Additionally, DGCA officials are monitoring the situation to ensure compliance of the above-mentioned CAR and minimise passenger inconvenience," said Dutt.

"Ministry of Civil Aviation is monitoring the situation of Vistara flight cancellations. However, flight operations are managed by Airlines themselves. Airlines have to comply with DGCA norms to ensure passenger facilitation in case of cancellation or delay of flights," said the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on X platform.

On Monday, the airline had said that in light of crew unavailability and other factors, it has experienced a notable uptick in cancellations and delays.

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

"We acknowledge this and are deeply concerned about the inconvenience caused to our customers," the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson also said that the airline is working towards minimising the discomfort to the customers.

"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 B787-9 Dreamliner and A321neo on select domestic routes to combine flights or accommodate more customers, wherever possible," the airline said.