ANIIndia’s aviation regulator has capped 50% of ’s flights, following its numerous flight safety incidents and a show cause notice from the regulator.
The Directorate General of India (DGCA) said the airline would mandatorily operate just half of its flights for eight weeks. Any increase in number of flights will be subject to “the airline demonstrating to the satisfaction of the DGCA that it has sufficient technical support and financial resource to safely and efficiently undertake such enhanced capacity”.
During the eight weeks, the airline shall be subject to “enhanced surveillance” by the regulator.
On July 6, the DGCA issued a show cause notice to the low-fare carrier, asking it to explain why it had “failed to establish a safe, efficient and reliable air service...”
This was SpiceJet flights faced mid-air snags on nine instances since May.
The DGCA, which reviewed several flight incidents at the airline, observed that “on a number of occasions, the aircraft either turned back to its originating stations or continued landing to the destination with degraded safety margins.”
The incidents point to “poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions,” it said in the notice.
A financial assessment carried out in September 2021 had also revealed that the airline was on a cash-and-carry agreement with vendors, with irregular payments leading to a shortage of spares, the DGCA had said.
SpiceJet has maintained its aircraft are safe to fly and have been audited by the DGCA.
Recent SpiceJet incidents
The Directorate General of India (DGCA) said the airline would mandatorily operate just half of its flights for eight weeks. Any increase in number of flights will be subject to “the airline demonstrating to the satisfaction of the DGCA that it has sufficient technical support and financial resource to safely and efficiently undertake such enhanced capacity”.
During the eight weeks, the airline shall be subject to “enhanced surveillance” by the regulator.
On July 6, the DGCA issued a show cause notice to the low-fare carrier, asking it to explain why it had “failed to establish a safe, efficient and reliable air service...”
This was SpiceJet flights faced mid-air snags on nine instances since May.
The DGCA, which reviewed several flight incidents at the airline, observed that “on a number of occasions, the aircraft either turned back to its originating stations or continued landing to the destination with degraded safety margins.”
The incidents point to “poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions,” it said in the notice.
A financial assessment carried out in September 2021 had also revealed that the airline was on a cash-and-carry agreement with vendors, with irregular payments leading to a shortage of spares, the DGCA had said.
SpiceJet has maintained its aircraft are safe to fly and have been audited by the DGCA.
Recent SpiceJet incidents
- On July 2, an aircraft returned to Delhi after passengers and crew flagged smoke in the cabin
- On June 19, a Patna-Delhi flight returned to Patna as the engine caught fire after a bird strike
- On May 28, there was another incident of a cracked windshield near Mumbai
- On May 3, a flight returned to Chennai after an engine shutdown
- On May 3, an engine failure in a flight barred it from take-off from Mumbai
- On May 1, 40 passengers and crew suffered minor injuries on board a Mumbai-Durgapur flight due to a turbulent landing
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