On Wednesday, Aviation regulator DGCA issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet following eight technical malfunction incidents in the last 18 days. The DGCA in the statement said that SpiceJet failed to establish safe, efficient, and reliable air services under terms of Rule 134 and Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. The authority has asked the airline to explain why action should not be taken against it for the repeated safety issues.
The aviation regulator has given three weeks to SpiceJet to respond to the notice. “The review (of incidents) transpires that poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions (as most of the incidents are related to either component failure or system-related failure) have resulted in degradation of the safety margins,” the notice stated.
Sharing the notice on social media, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia asserted that the safety of passengers was paramount. “Even the smallest error hindering safety will be thoroughly investigated and course-corrected,” he said in a tweet.
Passenger safety is paramount. Even the smallest error hindering safety will be thoroughly investigated & course-corrected. https://t.co/UD1dJb05wS
— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) July 6, 2022
The notice also added that the financial assessment carried out by DGCA in September 2021 had also revealed that the airline was operating on a ‘cash-and-carry’ (model) and suppliers were not being paid regularly leading to a shortage of spares and frequent invoking of MELs (minimum equipment lists).
8 SpiceJet mishap incidents in past 18 days
This is after the company witnessed the unusual functioning of around 8 airplanes in the past 18 days. On July 5, SpiceJet Q400 aircraft that was operating between Kandla and Mumbai had to make an emergency landing after its windshield cracked mid-flight. In another such incident on the same day, SpiceJet’s Boeing 737 freighter, a cargo aircraft returned to Kolkata while on its way to Chongqing, China. According to the reports, after the plane took off, the weather radar stopped working following which the pilot decided to return to Kolkata.
Earlier in the day, a SpiceJet SG-11 aircraft from Delhi to Dubai was diverted to Pakistan due to a technical malfunction. The aircraft made a safe landing at Pakistan’s Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. According to a statement by the company, nobody was injured and everyone was safe, including passengers and the staff. In another recent incident, a SpiceJet flight from Delhi to Jabalpur (SG-2962) was forced to return to the Delhi airport on Saturday morning when the cabin crew spotted smoke inside the plane while flying at 5,000 feet.
On June 25, a SpiceJet flight from Patna to Guwahati was forced to cancel due to a technical fault. One of the aircraft’s rear doors had an automatic warning light lit. On June 19, an enging of a Spicejet flight carrying over 185 people from Patna to Delhi caught fire shortly after take off and had to make an emergency landing. As per the airline, a bird struck the fan blades. On the same day, a Bombardier Q400 Dash 8 aircraft traveling from Delhi to Jabalpur was forced to make an emergency landing in Delhi due to a lack of cabin pressure as the plane reached a high altitude.
Reports mention that the airline is facing financial troubles for three years. The carrier has incurred heavy net loss of Rs 998 crore in 2020-21. Reportedly, the Aviation authorities have given three weeks to SpiceJet to respond to the notice.
