IndiGo crisis: SpiceJet to add 100 additional daily flights to meet winter demand

SpiceJet on Wednesday said it plans to introduce 100 additional daily flights to meet passenger demand during the winter.

The statement came as the government on Tuesday announced a 10 per cent cut in IndiGo's winter schedule to help the crisis-hit airline get its operations back to normal and reduce cancellations.

"As part of this (ramping up operations) effort, we plan to introduce up to 100 additional daily flights during the current winter schedule, subject to regulatory approvals," SpiceJet said in a statement.

SpiceJet was allowed to operate 224 flights a day or 1,568 flights a week in the current winter schedule. This was 20.89 per cent higher compared to 1,297 flights per week, operated by the carrier during the last winter.

The airline operated 1,240 flights per week in the summer schedule.

In the past two months, the airline has added 17 aircraft into active operations through a mix of damp lease and the return of its own aircraft to service.

"This enhanced fleet availability gives us the operational flexibility to deploy incremental capacity on high-demand routes and improve overall network resilience," the airline said.

"Our focus in the current schedule period is to add several more aircraft, maximise aircraft utilisation and strengthen connectivity through better planning," SpiceJet said.