BackDGCA audit found SpiceJet component suppliers not being paid regularly
The DGCA has issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet after eight malfunction incidents in last 18 days
PremiumAn audit of SpiceJet conducted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in September 2021 found that the airline's component suppliers were not being paid on regular basis, leading to a shortage of spares.
"Financial assessment carried out by DGCA in September 2021 has revealed that the airline is operating on 'cash-and-carry' (model) and suppliers/approved vendors are not being paid on a regular basis leading to a shortage of spares and frequent invoking of MELs (minimum equipment lists)," said the DGCA in a show-cause notice issued on Wednesday.
The aviation regulator issued the notice to SpiceJet following eight technical malfunction incidents in the last 18 days.
"The review (of incidents) transpires that poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions (as most of the incidents are related to either component failure or system-related failure) have resulted in degradation of the safety margins," read the notice.
The DGCA said SpiceJet has failed to "establish safe, efficient and reliable air services" under terms of Rule 134 and Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules, 1937.
SpiceJet has been given three weeks to respond to the notice.
Reacting to the DGCA notice, aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia asserted that passenger safety was paramount.
"Even the smallest error hindering safety will be thoroughly investigated & course-corrected," he said in a tweet.
This comes after a SpiceJet freighter aircraft, which was heading to Chongqing in China on Tuesday, returned to Kolkata as the pilots realised after the take-off that its weather radar was not working.
On Tuesday itself, 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 2 July, 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 24 and 25 June, forcing the aircraft to abandon their journeys and return.
On 19 June, 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 19 June, a SpiceJet flight for Jabalpur had to return to Delhi due to cabin pressurisation issues.
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