SpiceJet Chairman Ajay Singh was booked on allegations of duping a businessman on the pretext of allotting him company shares. The airline, while denying the charges as “completely bogus”, has said it will file a defamation suit against the complainant.
According to reports, the complainant Amit Arora made allegations of fraud against the SpiceJet Chiarman. The complainant claimed he was delivered a fake depository instruction slip (DIS) of 10 lakh shares for services provided. Accordingly, a complaint was filed wit the the Gurugram police.
Arora reportedly is in the business of providing non-aeronautical services, including airport retail and hospitality across various airports in India.
In a statement, SpiceJet said the complaints filed by liqour dealer Amit Arora were “frivolous, mischievous, and completely bogus”, and “with an intention to hurt SpiceJet and Ajay Singh’s image”.
“At no point has the company sought any service from him, nor did he ever provide any kind of service t SpiceJet. Neither Singh, nor any concerned person from SpiceJet has ever met the complainant for any work; nor is there any written agreement between them....A defamation suit will be filed against the complainant by SpiceJet and Singh,” said a company spokesperson.
Meanwhile, a SpiceJet flight from Dubai to Madurai, was delayed after the Boeing B737 Max aircraft’s nose wheel malfunctioned. Another aircraft was arranged immediately, which brought passengers back to India. The incident, which reportedly occurred on Monday, is the ninth technical malfunction on a SpiceJet aircraft in the last 24 days.
Highest load factor
SpiceJet, in a separate statement on Tuesday, said it has flown with the highest passenger load factor in the Indian skies for a record seven years.
For the last 84 out of 85 operational months, starting April 2015, the airline recorded the highest occupancy among all Indian domestic airlines . The airline had a load factor of 81 – 90 per cent beginning July.
“The airline continues to see robust demand in the coming quarter,” the statement said adding that it also had a PLF of more than 90 per cent for 58 “continuous” months.