SpiceJet Flight Archives - Lokmarg

SpiceJet joins ‘Op Kaveri’;184 Indians Rescued From Jeddah

By LokMarg 1st May 2023

Domestic carrier SpiceJet has joined in efforts to bring back stranded Indians from Sudan under Central government’s ‘Operation Kaveri’.

The airline operated its first evacuation flight from Jeddah to Kochi on April 30, evacuating 184 stranded Indians, who were stuck in Sudan.
Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director of SpiceJet, said, “We are humbled by the opportunity to contribute in the evacuation of stranded Indians from Sudan under ‘Operation Kaveri’. SpiceJet remains committed to supporting the Government in its mission to safeguard our citizens and enable their safe return to their homes and families. We successfully operated our first evacuation flight from Jeddah bringing back 184 stranded Indian nationals. We are in touch with the government to operate more such flights.”

The airline is in regular touch with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia to coordinate further evacuation efforts. More evacuation flights from Saudi Arabia to different cities in India are being planned. SpiceJet is well connected to Saudi Arabia and operates daily flights from Jeddah to Calicut, Delhi and Mumbai. It also operates daily flights from Riyadh to Delhi.

SpiceJet has been a crucial part of the government’s evacuation and repatriation efforts in the past. SpiceJet helped evacuate more than 1600 students under “Operation Ganga”, having operated special flights to Budapest, Kosice and Suceava. SpiceJet also played a key role in repatriating Indians and foreign nationals during the pandemic times.

The Union government, under Operation Kaveri, is set to evacuate about 3,000 Indian-origin passengers from Sudan.

Sudan is experiencing bloodshed as a result of clashes between the army and paramilitary forces.

Fighting has erupted between soldiers loyal to Sudanese army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, paramilitary Rapid Support Soldiers (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

Committed to ensuring that no Indian national is left behind in Sudan, India has deployed its military planes and warships in the war-torn country to bring its citizens safely under ‘Operation Kaveri’. (ANI)

Madurai Customs Seizes 8 Gold Pieces

By LokMarg 20th October 2022

The Madurai Customs Airport Intelligence Unit (AIU) confiscated eight gold pieces weighing 141 grams that were concealed in a toolbox from a passenger on October 19. The man flew in from Dubai.

It was discovered that the man was attempting to smuggle the gold by concealing it in a toolbox. When he was searched, gold worth Rs seven lakh was seized.
Eight gold pieces in all have been discovered in the passenger’s possession, six of which are cylindrical in shape, one of which is bent cylindrical in shape, and the eighth is shaped like a bindi. They all weigh 141 grams, are 24 karats, and are of foreign origin.

The gold pieces were hidden inside three of nine Torx set pieces and one T-shaped drill pit key in a toolbox. The total worth of the seized gold pieces is Rs 7,19,382, and they were carried by a male passenger who landed in Madurai from Dubai on a SpiceJet flight on October 19. (ANI)

DGCA Extends 50% Cap On SpiceJet’s Flights Till October

By LokMarg 21st September 2022

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday extended the 50 percent restriction on SpiceJet flights till October 29.

“Based on the review of the safety performance of Spicejet, the authority issued Interim Order of even number dated 27 July 2022 whereby restricting the number of departures of Spicejet to 50% of the number of departures approved under Summer Schedule 2022 for a period of eight weeks,” DGCA said in its order.
Whereas the review has indicated that there is an appreciable reduction in the number of safety incidents, it said.

“However, as a matter of abundant caution, the competent authority has decided that the restriction as imposed on July 27 this year shall continue to be in force till the end of the summer schedule on September 29, in accordance with the powers conferred under rule 19A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937,” it further read.

DGCA said that any increase in the number of departures beyond 50% as approved during this period, shall be subject to the airline demonstrating to the satisfaction of DGCA that it has sufficient technical support and financial resource to safely and efficiently undertake such enhanced capacity. During this period, the airline shall be subject to “Enhanced surveillance” by DGCA, it reads.

Earlier on July 27, reviewing the reply of Spicejet on show cause notice, the DGCA had restricted the airline to operating only 50% of flights for eight weeks.

In a letter to Spicejet, the Joint Director General of Civil Aviation mentioned that the reported incidents on aircraft operated by Spicejet from 1st April to 5th July 2022 were reviewed and it was 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. There is poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions, which have resulted in the degradation of the safety margins.

Reacting to DGCA restriction, SpiceJet had stated, “We are in receipt of the DGCA order and will act as per directions of the regulator. Due to the current lean travel season, SpiceJet like other airlines had already rescheduled its flight operations. Hence, there will be absolutely no impact on our flight operations.”

The airline had further added, “We want to reassure our passengers and travel partners that our flights will operate as per schedule in the coming days and weeks. There will be no flight cancellation as a consequence of this order. DGCA’s observation that SpiceJet is taking measures for arresting the trend of incidents is very encouraging and we will continue to work under the close guidance of the regulator.”

A financial assessment carried out by DGCA in September 2021 had revealed that Spicejet was operating on cash and approved vendors were not being paid on regular basis leading to the shortage of spares and frequent invoking of Minimum Equipment Lists (MELS).

Whereas from the above, it was deduced that Spicejet failed to establish a safe, efficient and reliable air transport service under the terms of rule 134 read with Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 and accordingly, a show cause notice was issued on July 5, 2022, to the Accountable Manager of M/s Spicejet Ltd. to explain within three weeks of receipt of the notice as to why action should not be taken against the airline.

“On July 25, Spicejet submitted a reply to the show cause notice. The same has been reviewed at an appropriate level and it has been observed that Spicejet is taking measures for arresting the trend of incidents, however, the airline needs to sustain these efforts for safe and reliable air transport service,” the letter had read. (ANI)