Cash-strapped SpiceJet on August 29 flew into rough weather yet again as fresh payment issues led to temporary disruption in flights from the Dubai International Airport, multiple executives from the airport said on the condition of anonymity.
"SpiceJet flights were temporarily suspended at the Dubai airport around 10 times in the past month. On August 29, passengers were not allowed to board the flight and were asked to contact the airline for a refund," an airport executive said.
He added that the SpiceJet planes flew back to India empty as the airline was not willing to pay the parking fees and asked for some time to clear the pending dues. Emails sent to Dubai airport remained unanswered till the time of publishing this story.
Thursday's incident was the latest in a long list of troubles for SpiceJet, which has struggled to fully restore operations despite multiple fundraises over the last year.
Earlier this month, SpiceJet managed to avert a shutdown of its flights from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai, resolving a tricky situation in the nick of time, which could have affected several passengers.
On August 12, CSMIA issued a passenger advisory stating that effective midnight on August 13, SpiceJet flight operations from the Mumbai International Airport were expected to be temporarily disrupted. “The Mumbai International Airport is working with the airline to address the situation to minimise inconvenience to passengers,” it said.
However, within a few hours, the Adani-operated airport recalled the advisory. In the meanwhile, the Ajay Singh-promoted budget airline issued a statement. "The passenger advisory issued by MIAL has been withdrawn. Our flight operations in and out of Mumbai are operating normally. SpiceJet and MIAL have worked collaboratively to swiftly resolve a minor financial matter,” it said.
There have also been reports of SpiceJet delaying on the salary, provident fund payments, and tax deducted at source payment of its employees for more than a couple of years.
SpiceJet stayed in the black in the first quarter of 2024-25 with a net profit of Rs 158.6 crore for the April-June period. The profit, however, was 19.7 percent lower than the Rs 197.53 crore reported a year ago, the airlines said on August 14.
Promoter Ajay Singh is likely to dilute his shareholding in the cash-strapped airline by more than 10 percent in an effort to raise about Rs 3,000 crore, news reports said on August 14.
The company plans to raise fresh capital by issuing new shares to investors, expanding its capital base. Singh, along with his family, holds 47.8 percent in the low-cost carrier and out of this 38.8 percent is pledged with lenders. The airline has appointed ICICI Securities and JM Financial to manage the fundraising process.
Last month, the board of the budget carrier approved raising up to Rs 3,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP). While the airline had earlier announced plans to raise about Rs 2,250 crore from a group of 64 investors, it could only raise Rs 1,060 crore, as one of the primary investors eventually backed out.
"The upcoming Rs 3,000-crore fundraise through QIP will be instrumental in reinforcing our financial foundation and positioning SpiceJet for sustained success," Singh, chairman and managing director of SpiceJet, said in a statement on August 14.
In a major blow to struggling SpiceJet, the Delhi High Court on August 14 asked the domestic carrier to ground three engines leased out by two French firms - Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS-by Friday after the airline failed to make rental payments.
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