Mumbai: One out of every seven SpiceJet flights was delayed by more than two hours in May, as the budget carrier struggles with a thin fleet and a cash crunch.
SpiceJet's performance was the worst among India's large airlines, and also the worst performance for SpiceJet itself in five months, official data showed. For context, this was more than 20 times the delay rate reported by market leader IndiGo during the month.
Rising delays add to the challenges facing SpiceJet, whose market share fell from 3.9 in January to 3% in May, as it attempts to stabilize operations and restore passenger confidence amid continued scrutiny from regulators, lessors and customers. With rival airlines maintaining delay rates below 2% in May, the widening gap underscores the operational pressures confronting the carrier.
“While any delay is regrettable, it is important to note that on-time performance can fluctuate over different periods depending on a range of operational and external factors,” said SpiceJet spokesperson in an email, adding the airline's focus remains on steadily improving schedule reliability while ensuring that safety is never compromised.
Steady decline
The deterioration has been steady through the year, data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) showed. In January, 7.2% of SpiceJet's flights were delayed by over two hours, compared with 2.9% for IndiGo, 2.1% for Air India and 6.3% for Akasa Air. By May, SpiceJet's delay rate had climbed to 15.75% -- or around one in seven flights -- while IndiGo's stood at 0.78%, Air India's at 1.85% and Akasa Air's at 1.49%.
DGCA introduced data on flight delayed by more than 2 hours only since the start of the year.
“SpiceJet appears to be in survival mode as it grapples with prolonged financial stress. Rising flight delays have hurt its operational reliability and brand perception, prompting some passengers to shift to rival carriers,” said Gagan Dixit, senior vice-president, oil & gas and aviation at brokerage firm, Elara Securities.
SpiceJet has also been unable to fully benefit from increased domestic airfares that boosted yields for rival airlines, said Dixit. “Its active fleet has shrunk sharply and is now smaller than Akasa Air's, marking a significant reversal from the company's optimism before December quarter, when it had projected a steady expansion of the fleet,” Dixit said.
The airline has taken a number of measures to improve schedule reliability including the phased return of aircraft to service, the induction of additional capacity, optimization of flight schedules, strengthening engineering support and closer coordination across operational teams to minimise disruptions and improve aircraft utilization, the Spicejet spokesperson said.
Charter obligations
The civil aviation ministry's passenger charter mandates have specific obligations when flights are significantly delayed. If a passenger has checked in on time and a flight is delayed by more than two hours, the airline must provide complimentary meals and refreshments based on the waiting time.
“Under DGCA CAR, Section 3, Series M, Part IV, passengers checked in on time must receive meals and refreshments where the applicable threshold is crossed i.e. two hours for flights with block time up to 2½ hours, three hours for flights up to five hours, and four hours for longer flights,” said Rohit Jain, managing partner, Singhania & Co., a law firm.
A domestic delay exceeding six hours triggers a choice between an alternative flight and full refund, and overnight delays require accommodation. However, extraordinary circumstances can be factored in where airlines will not be penalized, said Jain.
While delays do not automatically entitle passengers to monetary compensation, airlines must comply with these service obligations under the DGCA's Civil Aviation Requirements and the passenger charter.
Fleet woes
The worsening operational performance comes as the airline continues to deal with a smaller active fleet than planned. SpiceJet has faced prolonged aircraft groundings due to engine issues, payment disputes with lessors and maintenance constraints. Earlier this week, four grounded Boeing 737 MAX aircraft also became the subject of deregistration requests before the DGCA, although the airline said the move would have no impact on its operations.
Spicejet currently has 11 operational aircraft: nine Boeing 737 MAX jets and two De Havilland Canada Dash 8 turboprops, according to aviation database website Planespotters.net. Another 42 aircraft remain parked, including 20 Boeing aircraft and 22 Dash 8s, indicating they are not in active service.
Data from UK-based aviation analytics firm OAG shows SpiceJet has 1,855 scheduled domestic departures in July, down about 28% from 2,578 departures a year earlier, indicating continued strain on its operations.
SpiceJet has been grappling with losses and cash strain in FY26. For the first nine months, till December 31, 2025, it reported a net loss of ₹1138.15 crore. Losses widened over the ₹266.8 crore reported in the year-ago-period. Revenue from operations stood at ₹3271,5 crore for the period ending 31 December 2025, down 14% over the year-ago-period.
The Gurugram-headquartered airline is yet to declare its FY26 annual results and March quarter earnings.