The troubles of SpiceJet Airlines are not showing any signs of reducing.
The airline had to bring back flights from Dubai to India without passengers. In fact, passengers were not allowed to check-in due to non-payment of dues to the airport authority.
Due to this, the flights returned without passengers. This is the latest case in the long list of problems of SpiceJet.
The airline raised several rounds of funding last year but still struggled to fully restore operations. The airline has been struggling with financial crunch for a long time and has had to cancel or delay flights several times.
On August 2 this month, hundreds of SpiceJet passengers were stranded at Dubai airport after flights were cancelled due to non-payment of dues to the airport authority.
A SpiceJet spokesperson had said some flights from Dubai to India were cancelled due to operational reasons but did not give details.
A source related to the matter said that about 10 SpiceJet flights operating from Dubai to various cities of India were canceled due to non-payment of dues. The source said that hundreds of passengers were stranded in Dubai.
In light of the latest development, a senior official from India’s civil aviation ministry said they were “monitoring SpiceJet,” reports The Hindu. Meanwhile, a SpiceJet spokesperson said the cancellations were made “due to operational issues” and affected passengers were rescheduled for next SpiceJet flights or other airlines and offered full refunds. After the disruption, all scheduled flights from Dubai are now operating as planned, the spokesperson said.
On August 14, the Delhi High Court had directed airline SpiceJet to stop using three of its engines and hand them over to the lessors within 15 days.
The high court directed the airline to offer the engines to the lessors, Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS, through their authorised representatives at the Delhi airport, for pre-inspection within seven days.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said in the order, “This court has no option but to direct the respondent (SpiceJet) to ground the three engines with effect from August 16, 2024. The respondent shall take steps to ensure that the engines are re-supplied to the plaintiff within 15 days from today.”
DGCA puts SpiceJet under surveillance
Aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday decided to put crisis-hit SpiceJet under greater surveillance, with on-site checks and night surveillance to ensure safety of the airline’s operations.
Based on reports of SpiceJet cancelling flights and facing financial difficulties, the DGCA said it conducted a special audit of the airline’s engineering facilities on August 7 and 8 and found certain deficiencies during the audit.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a release, “In view of the past records and the special audit conducted in August 2024, SpiceJet has once again been placed under surveillance with immediate effect.”
“This will increase the number of spot checks and night surveillance to ensure safety of operations,” DGCA said.
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