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Passenger safety paramount, says aviation minister as SpiceJet gets DGCA notice
Taking to Twitter, Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia , who uploaded a copy of the notice, said, “Even the smallest error hindering safety will be thoroughly investigated and course-corrected.”
Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday said passenger safety is paramount as the director-general of civil aviation (DGCA) issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet over failure to establish safe, efficient and reliable air services. The low-cost airliner faced eight technical malfunction incidents in the last 18 days.
Taking to Twitter, Scindia, who uploaded a copy of the notice, said, “Even the smallest error hindering safety will be thoroughly investigated and course-corrected.”
Also Read| SpiceJet responds to DGCA notice on flight snags, says ‘committed to safety’
According to the DGCA notice, “SpiceJet Ltd. has failed to establish safe, efficient and reliable air services under terms of Rule 134 and Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules, 1937”
“The reported incidents on aircraft operated by SpiceJet Ltd. from April 1, 2022, till date have been reviewed and it has been observed that on a number of occasions, the aircraft either turned back to its originating station or continued landing to the destination with degraded safety margins,” it added.
The regulatory body also said that SpiceJet has been asked to show cause within three weeks of receipt of Wednesday's notice saying why action should not be taken against the airline. In case no reply is received within the stipulated period, the matter will be proceeded ex-parte, the DGCA said.
The airline said that its freighter aircraft, which was heading to Chongqing in China, returned to Kolkata on Tuesday as the pilots realised after take-off that its weather radar was not working.
On the same day, SpiceJet's Delhi-Dubai flight was diverted to Karachi due to a malfunctioning fuel indicator and its Kandla-Mumbai flight did a priority landing in Mumbai after cracks developed on its windshield mid-air.
On July 2, the airline's flight heading to Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur returned to Delhi after the crew observed smoke in the cabin at around 5,000 feet altitude.
