SpiceJet's 50% cap revoked by aviation regulator from Oct 30

New Delhi: With effect from October 30, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has lifted the 50% cap on SpiceJet flights, despite the loss-making airline's continuing reports of technical problems.

SpiceJet would be allowed to run all of its scheduled flights beginning on October 30 in accordance with the winter schedule authorised by the DGCA. Following a string of dangerous mid-flight technical difficulties, the DGCA prohibited the airline from operating no more than 50% of its flights for an eight-week period on July 27 of this year. This ban was extended last month until October 29, NIE reported.

In the wake of an emergency landing that happened earlier this month in Hyderabad as a result of the discovery of smoke within the cabin of a SpiceJet flight, it was closely observed whether the regulator would maintain the ban in place during the winter schedule.

The DGCA has officially approved SpiceJet to run 3,193 flight departures each week under the winter schedule. Throughout most of the current summer schedule, SpiceJet was running close to 2,000 flights per week. The winter timetable, which runs from October 30, 2022, through March 25, 2023, permits airlines to run 21,941 departure flights on domestic routes per week.

While this is a 1.55% decrease from the 22,287 flights that were run during the previous winter schedule, SpiceJet's allotment has gone up by more than 6%. IndiGo has been allocated the largest number of departures—10,085—out of the 21,941 departures.

Given that IndiGo has a 56–58% market share in the domestic market, a 50% allocation is justified. There will be 1,990 departures for Air India, 1,941 for Vistara, and 1,462 for AirAsia India. Go Air will have 1,390 weekly departures, Alliance Air 1,034 departures, and newly established Akasa Air 479 departures.