Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended a senior Vistara official for lapses in conversion training of pilots, a source said on Tuesday. According to the sources, Vikram Mohan Dayal Vistara vice president of Training at the full-service carrier, has been removed from his post.
However, there is no official statement from Vistara. In the DGCA's probe into alleged lapses in conversion training of some pilots, the inquiry panel detected some flaws. After the completion of conversion training, a narrow body pilot can operate wide-body aircraft.
The source said that lapses were noticed in the conversion training of little over 10 pilots and after the enquiry, the regulator decided to take action against the airline's training head.
DGCA seeks daily report on Vistara flight cancellations
Earlier in the first week of the month, the aviation watchdog asked Vistara to submit a daily report on flight cancellations and delays as the Tata group airline cancelled more than 50 flights for the second straight day on Tuesday amid non-availability of pilots. The civil aviation ministry was also monitoring the situation of flight cancellations at Vistara, which saw resignations of at least 15 senior first officers in the recent past.
As per the summer schedule, which started from March 31, the airline is to operate a little over 300 flights daily. It has around 800 pilots. The DGCA said in view of various flight disruptions of Vistara, it has asked the airline to submit daily information and details of flights that are being cancelled and delayed.
In recent weeks, discontentment was simmering among pilots at Vistara, which was in the process of getting merged with Air India, following the new contracts wherein there are concerns that fixed pay component is getting reduced and there is more flying-linked incentive in the salary structure. The new contracts that will bring parity between pilots of Vistara and Air India have been introduced as part of the ongoing merger process.
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