DGCA places SpiceJet under enhanced surveillance with immediate effect

SpiceJet

Aviation watchdog DGCA on Thursday placed budget carrier SpiceJet under 'enhanced surveillance' with immediate effect. This will mean that the crisis-hit airline will now entail increased spot checks and night surveillance to ensure the safety of the airline's operations.

"In light of the past record and the special audit carried out in August 2024, SpiceJet has once again been placed under enhanced surveillance with immediate effect. "This would entail an increase in the number of spot checks/ night surveillance with a view to ensure the safety of operations," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a release.

Based on reports of cancellation of flights and financial stress being experienced by SpiceJet, DGCA said it conducted a special audit of the airline's engineering facilities on August 7 and 8 and certain deficiencies were found during the audit.  Earlier some reports stated that SpiceJet had to operate empty flights from Dubai as passengers were not allowed to check in due to the airline's unpaid airport dues.

However, later Spicejet issued a statement and said , "Due to operational reasons, a few SpiceJet flights from Dubai were cancelled. Affected passengers have been accommodated on subsequent SpiceJet flights, on other airlines or provided with a full refund," an airline spokesperson said in a statement. When contacted, a Dubai airport official asked the reporter to check with SpiceJet for "information/comment relating to the situation".

The query was on whether Dubai airport has stopped checking in of passengers booked in SpiceJet as the airline is yet to pay pending financial dues. "All our scheduled flights from Dubai are now operating as planned," the airline spokesperson said in the statement.

SpiceJet has been facing multiple headwinds, including financial and legal woes.