The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is conducting operational and financial checks on SpiceJet after repeated delays and operational difficulties, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said, while stressing that passenger safety and continuity of service remain the government’s immediate priorities.
Naidu said the scrutiny was being carried out through the aviation regulator to ensure that there was no lapse in safety. He was responding to questions about the airline on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi where agreements were signed with states for the next phase of the regional connectivity scheme, Udaan.
“The immediate activity in the ministry regarding SpiceJet is that we have operational and, to a certain extent, financial scrutiny also being done from the ministry through the DGCA because we don’t want any lapse in safety,” Naidu said.
The minister said the Civil Aviation Ministry was in continuous engagement with the airline but had limits in intervening in the affairs of a privately run carrier. “There are certain limits with which government also can operate with them,” he said, underlining the distinction between regulatory oversight and direct management of an airline’s operations.
The scrutiny comes as SpiceJet faces financial and operational pressure. According to the latest official data cited in the report, the airline’s domestic market share fell to 1.6 per cent in July from 1.9 per cent in June. Its share had stood at 3.9 per cent in February, indicating a sustained decline during the period covered by the data.
Sources cited in the report said the airline was facing significant financial difficulties and that salary payments to many employees had been delayed since May. The report did not provide a response from SpiceJet to those claims.
Naidu also said the government had extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme to airlines that could face difficulties because of the West Asia crisis. SpiceJet has received Rs 150 crore under the scheme, he said. The minister added that the government’s priorities were to prevent passenger inconvenience, ensure that safety was not compromised in operations and sustain smooth airline functioning.
The airline has separately announced steps to increase its fleet during the winter schedule. On September 3, SpiceJet said it had finalised lease agreements with three aircraft operators for 20 planes, comprising 15 Boeing and five Airbus aircraft under damp- and wet-lease arrangements.
The fleet expansion plan is expected to support operations during the winter schedule, but the minister’s remarks indicate that the regulator’s immediate focus remains on operational reliability and financial stability. SpiceJet shares closed at Rs 9.20 on the BSE, down 2.85 per cent from the previous close.
The DGCA-led checks and the ministry’s engagement with the airline will determine the next regulatory and operational steps, while the government continues to maintain that safety oversight must be separated from the management of the private carrier.
