‘Trivial incidents happen’: SpiceJet chief after DGCA notice
PremiumThe DGCA has issued a notice to SpiceJet after eight incidents of mid-air technical malfunction were reported over the last 18 days
The sort of incidents being publicised in the media are “trivial" and happen on a daily basis, said SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh on Wednesday after the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to his airline.
“SpiceJet is running a safe airline for 15 years. The kind of incidents being talked about are trivial and happen on a daily basis in airlines. On average, 30 such incidents happen in airlines every day," Singh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
"Since the matter is being highlighted in the media, it becomes the responsibility of DGCA to issue show-cause notice. Similarly, it is the responsibility of the airlines to answer to DGCA," he added.
The aviation regulator issued a notice to SpiceJet after eight incidents of mid-air technical malfunction were reported over the last 18 days.
"SpiceJet's one or two incidents are being highlighted in the media. It is not okay. It does not mean that any airline is unsafe. When thousands of flights are operating, these trivial incidents happen," he said.
When asked what changes SpiceJet will now undertake to deal with the safety concerns, he said, "We have to be doubly careful. We will rigorously inspect aircraft when they leave for a flight, which we already do, but we will strengthen the inspection."
The DGCA in its notice said that SpiceJet has "failed to establish safe, efficient and reliable air services" under the terms of Rule 134 and Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules, 1937.
"The review (of the incidents) transpires that poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions (as most of the incidents were related to either component failure or system-related failure) have resulted in degradation of the safety margins," read the notice.
"Financial assessment carried out by DGCA in September 2021 has also revealed that the airline is operating on 'cash-and-carry' (model) and suppliers/approved vendors are not being paid on a regular basis, leading to shortage of spares and frequent invoking of MELs (minimum equipment lists)," it added.
The DGCA has given the airline three weeks to respond to the notice.
Singh responded to these allegations and said that none of the incidents that have happened in the last few weeks had anything to do with a shortage of spare parts.
"This is an audit that they are referring to from last year (September 2021) that they had done. The aviation sector has been under a great deal of stress. That does not mean there can be any compromise on safety," he explained.
"All vendors that are relevant to anything related to safety or spare parts are always paid or settlements are reached with them. There is no failure here."
In its official statement, the airline said it will respond to the DGCA notice within the specified time period.
"We are committed to ensuring a safe operation for our passengers and crew. We are an IATA-IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) certified airline. SpiceJet successfully completed the meticulous audit program for recertification in October 2021," it added.
The airline said it has been regularly audited by the DGCA.
"All our aircraft were audited a month ago by the regulator and found to be safe. All flights of SpiceJet are conducted in compliance with the applicable regulations of the DGCA Civil Aviation Regulations on the subject," it noted.
Incidents in question
On Tuesday, the airline's Delhi-Dubai flight was diverted to Karachi due to a malfunctioning fuel indicator and its Kandla-Mumbai flight did priority landing in the western metropolis after cracks developed on its windshield at a height of 23,000 feet.
On 2 July, a SpiceJet flight heading to Jabalpur returned to Delhi after the crew members observed smoke in the cabin at an altitude of around 5,000 feet. Fuselage door warnings lit up on two separate SpiceJet planes while taking off on 24 and 25 June, forcing the aircraft to abandon their journeys and return.
On 19 June, an engine on the carrier's Delhi-bound aircraft carrying 185 passengers caught fire soon after it took off from the Patna airport and the plane made an emergency landing minutes later. The engine malfunctioned because of a bird hit.
In another incident on the same day, a SpiceJet flight for Jabalpur had to return to Delhi due to cabin pressurisation issues.
With inputs from agencies.