SpiceJet is under fire for having 8 accidents in the past 18 days
SpiceJet Aircrafts is currently under the lookout of DGCA or the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. They have handed a show cause to the company pointing out the issues regarding the aircraft company. It highlighted the issues regarding the functioning and operation of flights with the degrading safety quality.
Accidents that Happened Over the Past Few Days
Over the last few months and weeks, SpiceJet has been criticized for the increasing issues and safety concerns being raised in regard to its flight and airplanes.
On June 19th a plane bound towards Jabalpur returned back to Delhi due to the failure of the cabin pressure to build up with rising altitude. On the same day, a Patna-Delhi flight had to make an emergency landing after the engine ignited in fire due to a bird that it hit. Luckily, it happened soon after take off so lives were not put in severe danger.
July 2nd saw another aircraft that was traveling to Jabalpur having to return to Delhi as smoke was seen from its cabin. Similarly, on June 5th a flight landed at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport as the windshield cracked at 23,000 feet leading to an emergency. Surprisingly, the same day saw two more such malfunctions. In a shocking turn of events, a Dubai bound aircraft from Delhi had to make an emergency landing at Karachi alerting the officials after the fuel indicator began to malfunction. A cargo SpiceJet plane making its way to China had to turn back to Kolkata after its weather radar failed to operate as well.
Notice of Show Cause to SpiceJet
A notice by DGCA or the Directorate General of Civil Aviation was handed over to SpiceJet. It stated that the company was operating its fleet of aircraft on a Minimum Equipment List. This translates to the fact that the aircraft though are considered safe to fly aren’t equipped for proper operation on a nation-wide distances as all the systems aren’t operational.
The notice further added that a number of aircraft were subjected to the same issue as they either had to land at the originating station or make an emergency landing due to the degrading safety of SpiceJet Aviation Lines.
The DGCA has undergone an investigation that showed poor internal safety and inadequate maintenance of the airline and its components led to the issues being developed over time as most of the incidents related to the failure of various systems within the internal structure of the aircraft.
Financial reviews conducted by the DGCA last year in September revealed that the airline company had not been paying its suppliers and vendors their due within the time on a regular basis leading to poor quality supply, lack of testing, and shortage of spare systems. This further caused a lot of harm not only to the passengers but also to the public approach towards the airlines.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, SpiceJet as an airline carrier had been unsuccessful in establishing a safe, efficient and reliable airline service according to the Aircraft Rules, 1937.
A Drop In Shares as Company Incurs Losses
Due to the incidents in the recent past piled up with previous reports of inefficiency and lack of safety measures, SpiceJet has incurred significant economic last. Over the past few years, the airline carrier saw a rise in losses from 316 crores in 2018-19 to a massive 998 crore in 2020-21.
The shares hit a 52-week low on 6th July declining to a huge 7%. Its shares fell majorly on the 5th after the plane bound towards Dubai had to make an emergency landing as it was diverted towards Karachi. It started selling at 35/- dropping by 2.33%.
However, the aircraft carrier’s shares bounced back a few hours earlier rising more than 2% showing a positive trend in the system after hitting a record-low.
