The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)’s directive to SpiceJet to operate only 50% of its flights for eight weeks is likely to have no significant impact on flight services from Kerala as the airlines has only a nominal presence in the State.
It operates two daily international flights, one from the Cochin International Airport and the other from the Calicut International Airport, besides a weekly domestic service from Thiruvananthapuram to Bengaluru.
When contacted, a senior SpiceJet officer said: “we have not received any communication from the headquarters with regard to flight operations. As of now, the flights from Kerala will operate as per schedule in the coming days.”
The DGCA in its order stated that any increase in the number of departures beyond 50% would be subject to the airline demonstrating to the satisfaction of the DGCA that it had sufficient technical support and financial resources to safely and efficiently undertake such capacity. The order was issued after a show-cause notice to SpiceJet following at least eight incidents of technical malfunction in its aircraft since June 19.
