India's aviation regulator has announced that budget carrier SpiceJet will be subject to heightened monitoring with immediate effect, following an audit that uncovered "certain deficiencies." The decision, announced on Thursday, comes three weeks after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) carried out a special audit in response to reports of flight cancellations and financial challenges.
The DGCA stated that this heightened surveillance will involve an increase in the frequency of spot checks and night surveillance to ensure the safety of operations, taking into account the airline's history and the findings of the recent special audit. The exact issues identified were not disclosed by the watchdog. This is not the first time SpiceJet has faced such scrutiny; the DGCA had previously conducted spot checks on the airline in 2022 and re-imposed enhanced surveillance in 2023. A spokesperson for SpiceJet requested additional time to provide a comment on the latest regulatory action.
