DGCA instructs SpiceJet to operate 50pc of its fleet

New Delhi : India's civil aviation sector regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on July 27 instructed low-cost carrier SpiceJet to operate maximum of 50 per cent of its flights for the next eight weeks after several of its planes reported technical malfunctions recently.
During the period, DGCA will put the budget airliner under "enhanced surveillance", said reports.
The airline, however, said there will be no flight cancellations following the DGCA's order as it is already operating limited services "due to the current lean travel season".
On March 11, the DGCA had approved 4,192 weekly domestic flights of SpiceJet for 2022's summer schedule, which ends on October 29.
The DGCA's latest order to operate a maximum of 50 per cent of flights means the private carrier would be able to operate not more than 2,096 weekly flights for the next eight weeks.
SpiceJet's planes were involved in at least eight incidents of technical malfunction between June 19 and July 5 in 2022, following which the DGCA on July 6 issued a show cause notice to the airline.
There is "poor internal safety oversight" and "inadequate maintenance actions" in SpiceJet which has resulted in degradation of "safety margins", added the order.
Spicejet has been making losses for the last three years--Rs 316 crore, Rs 934 crore and Rs 998 crore in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively.