The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday, 27 July, declared that they had curtailed the SpiceJet flight operations to 50% for the next eight weeks after the airlines reported multiple snags in a short period.
“The number of departures of M/s Spicejet is hereby restricted to 50% of the number of departures approved under Summer Schedule 2022 for a time of eight weeks from the date of issue of this order, by powers conferred under rule 19A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937”, the interim order by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) read.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation
Spicejet airlines had reported at least 8 technical malfunction incidents in 18 days. Following this Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh on Monday stated that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) did not find any major safety violations during spot checks on SpiceJet aircraft.
As many as 53 spot checks were conducted by the aviation regulator on 48 SpiceJet aircraft between July 9 and July 13, said the minister. The Union Minister in his written reply in the Rajya Sabha told that as a safety measure, the DGCA has ordered SpiceJet to use certain identified aircraft for operations only after confirming to the regulator that all said defects/malfunctions are rectified.
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- The DGCA order cited poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance action. They told that these conditions led to the degradation of safety margins with SpiceJet airplanes.
The DGCA investigated on reported incidents on aircraft worked by Spicejet from 1 April to 5 July. “On several occasions, the aircraft either turned back to its originating station or continued landing to the destination with degraded safety margins,” the order said.
The interim order also said that the airline company Spicejet is taking measures for arresting the trend of incidents, however, the airline needs to sustain these efforts for safe and reliable air transport service.
DGCA also pointed out that suppliers of the airline company have not been paid regularly. “Financial assessment carried out by DGCA in September 2021 has revealed that M/s Spicejet is working on cash & carry and suppliers/approved vendors are not being paid on regular basis leading to the shortage of spares and frequent invoking of MELS.”
The DGCA order concluded by stating that the airlines will now work under grown surveillance. “During these 8 weeks, the airline shall be subjected to “Enhanced Surveillance” by DGCA. The further decision in the matter shall be taken thereafter.”
SpiceJet planes were involved in technical malfunction incidents since June 19, following which the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to the airline on July 6, saying that ‘poor internal safety oversight’ and ‘inadequate maintenance actions’ have led to the degradation of safety margins.
Spicejet statement
To the DGCA offer, SpiceJet released an official statement where they told that flights in the coming weeks will not be revoked, much to the relief of their passengers.
“We want to reassure our travelers and journey partners that our flights will operate as per schedule in the coming days and weeks. There will be no flight cancellation as a consequence of this order”, the report said.
“DGCA’s observation that SpiceJet is taking measures for arresting the trend of incidents is very encouraging and we will continue to work under the close guidance of the regulator”, the statement said.
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Source: Mint
