RDG non-compliance: DGCA imposed Rs 70L fine on Vistara; airline paid fine under protest

The airline said it has been in absolute compliance with Route Dispersal Guidelines over past several years and that it had missed the compliance by just one flight

Aviation regulator DGCA had imposed Rs 70 lakh fine on Vistara for non-compliance with Route Dispersal Guidelines last year and the full service carrier paid the penalty "under protest".

The airline also said it has been in absolute compliance with Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) over the past several years and that it had missed the compliance by just one flight.

Under RDG, airlines are required to operate a certain number of flights to underserved areas, including the North East.

A senior DGCA official said that a fine of Rs 70 lakh was imposed on Vistara for non-compliance with RDG in October last year.

In a detailed statement, Vistara said that for April 2022 also, it was poised to deploy significantly more than the minimum required ASKM (Available Seat Kilometres) per category, which would have resulted in 1.22 per cent flights on CAT IIA routes against the requirement of 1 per cent.

"However, some flights had to be cancelled due to the closure of Bagdogra airport, leading to a shortfall of just 0.01 per cent in the required number of flights in April 2022 (short by just one flight).

"Also, as per the new Civil Aviation Policy 2016 which came into effect from Northern Winter 2017-18, trading of ASKMs has also been discontinued, which has restricted the options available to airlines to make any last minute adjustments in such instances," it said.

Further, Vistara said it "paid the penalty under protest".

"We also confirm to have deployed capacity in excess to the RDG requirement since then, as we had been doing in the past," it added.