DGCA: Took into view SpiceJet’s capacities before imposing curb

Domestic carrier SpiceJet’s summer schedule for eight weeks was restricted to half after taking into account its operations capability, engineering support and availability of technical personnel, Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) director general Arun Kumar told HT.

Kumar’s comments came two days after the regulator capped the budget airline’s operations over a spree of incidents earlier this summer, which appeared to pose a threat to passenger safety.

“While fixing the cap on the number of departures, we factored in their recent operations capability, engineering support, availability of technical personnel. We believe that as on date, they (airline) can provide safe and efficient aircraft operations only up to this (curtailed) level. The order is an interim one. It is unprecedented and historical as the regulator has decided to go this far for the first time,” Kumar said. “Our objective is to ensure safe and efficient running of an airline and not simply shut down one with no major accident history. We cannot be arbitrary or whimsical in our actions,” he added.

The aviation regulator has kept SpiceJet under surveillance, the official said. “In case their systems improve further, we may restore their capacity in a graded manner,” he added.

The DGCA on Wednesday restricted SpiceJet’s summer schedule for eight weeks, on the basis of findings of its “spot checks, inspections”, and the airline’s response to a notice from it.

The move came weeks after the regulator issued a warning notice to SpiceJet, saying the budget carrier had failed to establish its services were safe, efficient and reliable after at least nine SpiceJet flights between May 1 and July 6 witnessed “incidents” ranging from cracked windscreens to malfunctioning instruments.

The decision means SpiceJet will be allowed to fly a little over 2,000 flights from the approved number of 4,192. But the airline was already operating at around 50% of its approved schedule, which means flyers are unlikely to face cancellations.

A SpiceJet spokesperson reiterated on Thursday said that none of its flights will be affected due to the restriction.