50% cap on SpiceJet flights lifted

NEW DELHI: Domestic airline SpiceJet can resume its services without any restrictions from next month, India’s aviation regulator said on Friday, announcing that a 50% cap on the number of flights it can operate will be removed from next month.

The airline’s services were capped at half its approved schedule after a string of air safety incidents in the summer, when the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also put the carrier under enhanced surveillance comprising audits and safety checks.

“The airline is complying with all the directions emanating from audits/checks. Hence, the restrictions on them will not be extended further and they are allowed to operate flights without any restrictions,” Arun Kumar, the director general of DGCA, said.

A SpiceJet spokesperson did not comment on the development.

On July 27, SpiceJet’s services were capped to 50% of the summer schedule it had secured approvals for. The restriction was largely symbolic since the airline was functioning at half its approved capacity at the time. The restrictions were then extended twice, first till September 21 and then till October 29.

The trigger was a spree of air safety incidents in the weeks prior. Between May 1 and July 6, at least nine SpiceJet flights witnessed “incidents” as DGCA and the airline term them -- these range from cracked windscreens to malfunctioning instruments. Many of these forced the planes to return to departure airports or make an emergency landing somewhere in between.

DGCA has now approved SpiceJet’s winter schedule of 3,193 departures per week, starting from October 30 till March 25. This is 6.6% higher than the 2,995 departures it was cleared for in the winter of 2021. But the easing of restrictions comes at a time when some incidents were still being reported. The most recent was on October 12 when a Q400 aircraft flying from Goa to Hyderabad made an emergency landing due to smoke in the cockpit and the cabin. The regulator, therefore, on October 18, ordered inspections of the airline’s 14 Q400.

The preliminary probe in the October 12 incident found that engine oil seeped into the aircraft’s air-conditioning, which caused the incident. When asked what prompted the easing of restrictions, Kumar said: “The order to send oil samples of the Q400 aircraft to the engine maker was a preventive measure. Moreover, the report of the three engines that were asked to be submitted on the day of the order itself have been found to have no issues. So, there is no need to panic. We are taking all precautions. The engines for the entire Q400 fleet are being checked.” According to a former airline official, who did not want to be named, SpiceJet is to receive an additional ₹1,000 crore under the revised Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, which will help the airline address its liquidity issues.

In July, when the cap was placed, the DGCA noted SpiceJet had failed to establish “its services were safe, efficient and reliable” at the time. The decision also cited the fact that the airline was operating on a “cash and carry” basis, which meant suppliers were not being paid regularly.

The airline was then put under enhanced surveillance, spot checks and audits.

Experts said the easing will help the aviation sector meet a surge in demand, but called for caution. “Given the current demand and shortage of fleet and capacity in the market, SpiceJet resuming back at 100% will ease ticket pricing this holiday season,” said Mark D Martin, founder and CEO of Martin Consulting.

“The DGCA allowing 100% capacity of SpiceJet clearly centers on the safety element termed as ‘acceptable level of safety compliance’, which I am sure should be manageable and within an exceedance limit defined by the DGCA,” Martin added. SpiceJet, he said, will need to work on building back confidence with travellers. “They should consider themselves lucky if they see loads around 50% given the incidents with their aircraft.”

An aviation security expert, Mohan Ranganathan, said: “If any untoward incident takes place, then who will be responsible?”