SpiceJet may cancel 302 flights from City

Cash-strapped airline SpiceJet may end up cancelling over 1,850 flights, including 302 from Bengaluru, this month as it is withdrawing services as part of its “restructuring” plans.

According to an update from SpiceJet, 1,861 flights on domestic routes and some foreign routes were cancelled between December 8 and December 31. On Monday, the airline cancelled 81 flights, while an equal number of services will be cancelled on Tuesday.

“This is not news. This is just a sensational headline. Approximately 70 flights a day are removed from schedule, which is already known but sounds more dramatic to write 1,861,” Sanjiv Kapoor, Chief Operating Officer of SpiceJet, told Deccan Herald.
SpiceJet had found itself in more trouble with the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asking it on Friday not to take bookings for over one month due to flight cancellations.

The DGCA action came after the airline reduced flights from 339 per week in September to 232 flights in October.

The cancellations on these days range between 71 and 85 per day. The lowest cancellations are on December 21 when 71 services are cancelled, while the highest is on December 10, 15 and 17, when it has 85 cancellations each.

While 302 flights have been cancelled to and from Bengaluru, Delhi has 639 flights cancelled during this period.

According to the SpiceJet website, 294 services to and from Hyderabad were also cancelled, as were 48 services to Kathmandu.

SpiceJet shares ended over 4 per cent lower on Monday amid a flurry of negative news, including fund shortage and large-scale flight cancellations, according to PTI.
After falling 12.85 per cent to Rs 13.90 in intra-day trade, shares of SpiceJet finally ended at Rs 15.25, down 4.39 per cent from its previous close on the Bombay Stock Exchange.