The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (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.
The DGCA’s order came after the regulator had issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet following at least eight incidents of technical malfunction in its aircraft since June 19.
The DGCA in its notice to the airliner had said that it has failed to establish safe, efficient and reliable air services under Aircraft Rules, 1937.
Here is the timeline of eight incidents that have dogged the airline recently:
On July 5, SpiceJet’s Delhi-Dubai flight was diverted to Karachi due to a malfunctioning fuel indicator and its Kandla-Mumbai flight did priority landing in Maharashtra's capital city after cracks developed on its windshield mid-air.
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On July 2, a SpiceJet flight heading to Jabalpur returned to Delhi after the crew members observed smoke in the cabin at around 5,000 feet altitude.
Fuselage door warnings lit up on two separate SpiceJet planes while taking off on June 24 and June 25, forcing them to abandon their journeys and return.
On June 19, an engine on the carrier's Delhi-bound aircraft carrying 185 passengers caught fire soon after the take-off from Patna airport and the plane made an emergency landing minutes later.
The engine malfunctioned because of a bird hit.
In another incident on June 19, a SpiceJet flight for Jabalpur had to return to Delhi due to cabin pressurisation issues.
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On July 6, SpiceJet’ss freighter aircraft, which was heading to Chongqing in China, returned to Kolkata as the pilots had realised after take-off that its weather radar was not working.
The airline has been making losses for the last three years. The carrier incurred a net loss of Rs 316 crore, Rs 934 crore and Rs 998 crore in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively.
