New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet for failing to establish safe, efficient, and reliable air services.
“The reported incidents on aircraft operated by SpiceJet from April 1 till date have been reviewed. It has been observed that on a number of occasions, the aircraft either turned back to its originating station or continued to the destination with degraded safety margins,” the notice said.
“This shows poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions as most of the incidents are related to either component failure or system-related failure (resulting) in degradation of the safety margins,” it said.
The DGCA has asked the carrier to explain why action should not be taken against it for failing to observe safe and reliable services.
The airline has been under fire of late due to back-to-back incidents concerning its flights.
On Tuesday, a SpiceJet B737 aircraft flying from Delhi to Dubai was diverted to and landed in Karachi in Pakistan after an indicator light malfunctioned.
Four days back, a Delhi-Jabalpur flight returned to Delhi after the cabin crew noticed smoke inside the plane shortly after takeoff. The plane was flying at a height of 5,000 feet when the cabin crew noticed the smoke.
On June 19, a Delhi-bound SpiceJet flight returned to Patna after the plane caught fire after a bird hit.
On June 25, a Patna-Guwahati flight had to abort take-off due to a technical snag. On May 4, the Chennai-Durgapur flight returned to Chennai due to a technical snag that developed in mid-air.
Civil Aviation Minister Jyoytiraditya Scandia tweeted: “Passenger safety is paramount. Even the smallest error hindering safety will be thoroughly investigated and course-corrected.”
