SpiceJet flies 11% after airline asserts 'normal' flight operations

Shares of SpiceJet skyrocketed 11 per cent to Rs 42.5 per share on BSE in Monday's intra-day trade after the airline operator assured 'absolutely normal' flight operations. In the past one month, SpiceJet has remained flat, while the frontline indices Nifty50 and the S&P BSE Sensex have gained around 8.5 per cent each.

On Monday, August 1, the private airline operator asserted that all flights departed on time as per schedule, without any cancellations. Over the weekend, the aircraft occupancy or passenger load factor remained steady in the range of 81 to 82 per cent. This comes after airline regulator Director General of Civil Aviation (DCGA) curtailed flight operations to only 50 per cent for eight weeks. READ MORE
 

"In view of findings of various spot checks, inspections and the reply to the show-cause notice submitted by SpiceJet, for continued sustenance of safe and reliable air transport service, the number of departures of SpiceJet are restricted to 50 per cent of the number of departures approved under summer schedule 2022 for eight weeks," said the airline regulator.

The show cause notice was issued after at least eight technical malfunctions of SpiceJet flights were reported starting June 19. Last month, a SpiceJet freighter aircraft enroute to China was returned to Kolkata after pilots realised that the weather radar was not working. Likewise, the Delhi-Dubai flight was diverted to Karachi due to malfunction in fuel indicator. Additionally, smoke was observed in the cabin of SpiceJet flight headed to Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the airline had launched 26 new domestic flights in July. Under the UDAN scheme, they introduced direct flights like Nashik from Delhi, Hyderabad to Jammu, Mumbai to Guwahati, Varanasi to Ahmedabad and Kolkata to Jabalpur. The airline operator deployed Boeing 737 and Q400 aircrafts along these routes. 

So far in the calendar year, shares of SpiceJet have tanked nearly 44 per cent - the most amongst its peers. Meanwhile, shares of Interglobe Aviation slipped 7 per cent, whereas, Jet Airways gained 15.7 per cent, during the same period. In comparison, Nifty50 and the S&P BSE Sensex have shed up to 2 per cent.