DGCA lifts curbs, SpiceJet can now operate at full capacity from October 30

New Delhi, Oct 21: SpiceJet can now operate on full capacity if it wants, the Director General of Civil Aviation has said. The move comes nearly three months after the aviation regulator ordered the airline to operate only 50 per cent of its flights following a series of technical glitches.

The airline can operate to its full capacity from October 30, news agency ANI reported quoting the DGCA.

The regulator had on July 27 ordered SpiceJet to operate a maximum of 50 per cent of its flights, which were approved in the summer schedule for a period of eight weeks owing to a series of incidents involving its flights.

SpiceJet's planes were involved in at least eight incidents of technical malfunction between June 19 and July 5, following which the DGCA on July 6 issued a show cause notice to the airline.

"In view of the findings of various spot checks, inspections and the reply to the show cause notice submitted by SpiceJet, for the continued sustenance of safe and reliable transport service, the number of departures of SpiceJet is hereby restricted to 50 per cent of the number of departures approved under summer schedule 2022 for a period of eight weeks," the aviation regulator's order on Wednesday said.

The DGCA mentioned that if the airline wants to increase the number of flights beyond 50 per cent during the eight weeks, it will have to demonstrate that it has "sufficient technical support and financial resources to safely and efficiently undertake such enhanced capacity".

On July 5, a SpiceJet freighter aircraft, which was heading to Chongqing in China, returned to Kolkata as the pilots realised after the take-off that its weather radar was not working.

The same day, the airline'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.

On July 2, a SpiceJet flight heading to Jabalpur returned to Delhi after the crew members observed smoke in the cabin at an altitude of around 5,000 feet.

Fuselage door warnings lit up on two separate SpiceJet planes while taking off on June 24 and June 25, forcing the aircraft 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 it took off from the 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.

with PTI inputs