Mid-Air safety glitches prompt India to limit SpiceJet seats

India’s aviation safety regulator limited the number of seats SpiceJet Ltd. can sell at 50% for eight weeks this summer following frequent mid-air snags, a move that could severely hurt the troubled budget carrier’s ability to earn money. 

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation observed that aircraft operated by SpiceJet at times continued to fly or flew back to the origin airport with “degraded safety margins,” which was caused by “poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions,” the regulator said in a statement on Wednesday. 

While the airline is taking steps to mitigate the issues, it needs to sustain the measures for safe and reliable services, the DGCA said. The airline will now be subject to “enhanced surveillance,” according to the order. The regulator’s decision is part of intensifying inspections of all of the country’s airlines after a spate of non-fatal incidents. 

Last week, the DGCA grounded a pair of Airbus SE A320 planes operated by Go First, India’s second-biggest airline, after two domestic flights were diverted due to engine issues, while another was rerouted when its windshield cracked. The regulator also grounded an Air India Boeing Co. 787 following the loss of pressure on a flight from Dubai to Cochin in India’s south. The country’s biggest carrier, IndiGo, also diverted a flight due to a technical problem.

SpiceJet confirmed the receipt of the order saying it will continue to work under the guidance of the regulator.

“Due to the current lean travel season, SpiceJet like other airlines had already rescheduled its flight operations,” the airline said in a statement. Flights will operate as per schedule in the coming days and weeks and there will be no flight cancellation or impact on operations as a consequence of this order, it said.