Aviation regulator DGCA on Wednesday ordered SpiceJet to operate maximum 50 per cent of its flights, which were approved for summer schedule, for a period of eight weeks.
On July 6, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet following at least eight incidents of technical malfunction in its aircraft since June 19.
"In view of the findings of various spot checks, inspections and the reply to the show cause notice submitted by SpiceJet, for continued sustenance of safe and reliable transport service, the number of departures of SpiceJet are hereby restricted to 50 per cent of the number of departures approved under summer schedule 2022 for a period of 8 weeks," the aviation regulator's order on Wednesday said.
Earlier this month, SpiceJet's Dubai-Madurai flight was delayed on Monday after the Boeing B737 Max aircraft's nose wheel malfunctioned.
That incident was at least the ninth incident of technical malfunction in a SpiceJet aircraft in less than a month.
DGCA in its notice said, "the reported incidents of aircraft operated by M/s Spicejet Ltd. from 1st April, 2022 till date has been reviewed and it has been observed that at number of occasions, the aircraft either turned back to its originating station or continued with degraded safety margins. The review transpires that poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions has resulted in degradation of the safety margins,”
DGCA noted that as per its financial assessment the company is operating out cash and carry and its suppliers and vendors are not being paid on regular basis leading to shortage of spares and frequent invoking of Minimum Equipment List (MELs).
