The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will carry out spot checks and increase its surveillance on SpiceJet as a cash crunch has forced the airline to delay salaries and vendor payments.
The civil aviation regulator said the action is being initiated to ensure safety of operations following a special engineering audit earlier this month.
While the audit revealed certain deficiencies, the DGCA action came as the airline was disallowed from boarding passengers on its India-bound flights from Dubai airport over non-payment of dues.
This is not the first time that SpiceJet has been put under enhanced surveillance. It faced similar scrutiny in 2022 and 2023, and operations were allowed after rectification of defects.
SpiceJet confirmed it cancelled a few of its flights from Dubai blaming it on “operational reasons”. “Due to operational reasons, a few SpiceJet flights from Dubai were cancelled. Affected passengers have been accommodated on subsequent SpiceJet flights, on other airlines or provided with a full refund. All our scheduled flights from Dubai are now operating as planned,” a SpiceJet spokesperson said.
Dubai airport did not comment.
SpiceJet operates over 20 daily flights between Dubai and India including double daily flights to Delhi and Mumbai. It also operates flights to Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Kochi, Kozhikode, Madurai and Pune.
The airline has been facing a cash crunch for several months and has delayed salaries and vendor payments. Lessors have dragged it to court for payment delays and even filed insolvency petitions against the airline. SpiceJet’s domestic market share has declined from 5.6 per cent in January to 3.1 per cent in July. In July, its punctuality record was also the poorest with 30 per cent on-time flights at four metros.
On its part, the airline hopes to conclude a ₹3,000-crore capital raise plan by September-end to stabilise operations and make critical payments.
In the post-Q1 result statement, SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh said, “We believe in the resilience of our business model and remain committed to providing our customers with the best flying experience possible.”
“SpiceJet has made the difficult decision to temporarily place 150 cabin crew members on furlough for three months. This step has been taken in response to the current lean travel season and the reduced fleet size, with the long-term stability of the organisation in mind,’‘ a spokesperson said.
DGCA show-cause notice to Akasa Air
Separately, the DGCA has also issued a show-cause notice to Akasa Air after an audit revealed that the airline carried out training without regulatory approvals.
The DGCA said Akasa Air’s actions raise significant concerns regarding adequacy of training standards and operational readiness. The airline has been given seven days to explain its stance.
“Akasa Air is in receipt of a notice from the DGCA in relation to an audit conducted in May 2024 and we will submit a response as per protocol. Safety is of utmost importance, and we continuously strive to pursue the highest standards of safety,” Akasa Air said in a statement.