The troubles of SpiceJet airline are not reducing. The airline had to bring the flight back to India from Dubai without passengers. Actually, the passengers were not allowed to check-in due to non-payment of dues to the airport authority. Due to this, the flight returned without passengers. This is the latest case in the long list of SpiceJet’s troubles. The airline had raised several rounds of funds last year but despite this, it had to struggle to fully restore operations. The airline has been struggling with financial crisis for a long time and has had to cancel flights or face delays in flights many times.
On August 2 this month, hundreds of SpiceJet passengers were stranded at Dubai airport after flights were cancelled due to non-payment of dues to the airport authority. A SpiceJet spokesperson had said that some flights from Dubai to India were cancelled due to operational reasons, but he did not give details. A source related to the matter said that about 10 SpiceJet flights operating from Dubai to various cities of India were cancelled due to non-payment of dues. The source said that hundreds of passengers were stranded in Dubai.
In light of the latest development, a senior official from India’s civil aviation ministry said they were “monitoring SpiceJet,” reports The Hindu. Meanwhile, a SpiceJet spokesperson said the cancellations were made “due to operational issues” and affected passengers were rescheduled for next SpiceJet flights or other airlines and offered full refunds. After the disruption, all scheduled flights from Dubai are now operating as planned, the spokesperson said.
On August 14, the Delhi High Court had directed the airline SpiceJet to stop using three of its engines and hand them over to the lessors within 15 days. The High Court directed the airline to offer the engines to the lessors, Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS, through their authorised representatives at the Delhi airport within seven days for pre-inspection.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said in the order, “This court has no option but to direct the respondent (SpiceJet) to ground the three engines with effect from August 16, 2024. The respondent shall take steps to ensure that the engines are re-supplied to the plaintiff within 15 days from today.”
