Vistara has been identified as the airline that rejected a pilot’s request for a leave due to his mother’s illness.
What happened?
Screenshots of an email denying leave to the pilot emerged very recently on social media.
Following this, the airline has been on the receiving end of wrath online with a flood of criticism for the lack of humanity in denying the employee the leave on humanitarian grounds.
In the email the airline told the employee to reschedule the medical appointment and suggested getting a relative to help out instead.
The email
“We are sorry to hear about your mother’s illness, and understand the importance of being there for her during this time.
However, after careful consideration, we regret to inform you that we are unable to grant your request for emergency leave.
We would encourage you to explore alternative solutions such as rescheduling the medical check-up appointment or seeking support from family and friends to provide assistance during this time,” the email, addressed to one “Captain J…” read.
Airline name eventually uncovered
The name of the pilot has been hidden while the name of the airline is never mentioned.
However, journalist-activist Deepika Narayan Bharadwaj identified the organisation as full-service airline Vistara.
Replies held the same tone and emotion.
Public reaction
“I think the ‘human’ element is being completing taken out of a pilot- airline equation. But pilots are expected to ‘fly safe’ and be happy in any situation! Pits!” wrote Twitter user Manisha Singhal.
“This is what happens when you recruit non qualified HR,” another said.
“This is sickening. Emergencies don’t arrive with a sign. What is the use of having emergency leaves if the pilots can’t avail them? This is such a toxic workplace dynamic,” observed another.
Official statement
A Vistara spokesperson responded, saying, “We have come across a screenshot of one particular email, a response to one of our pilots’ request for leaves, being shared online with little context of the entire discussion.
We would like to clarify that the requested leaves were for a duration of three days in the future (submitted 8 days prior to the appointment) for medical check-ups of the pilot’s mother, which do not qualify as ‘Emergency Leaves’.
Hence, the leaves were denied and alternates were offered like rescheduling the medical check-up or exploring flexibility in the pilot’s roster.”
It further added: “As a people-friendly organization, we never deny leaves for emergencies and in fact, extend all possible support to employees in such situations.”
And there we have it.
