- SpiceJet faced multiple flight cancellations and delays on November 5 and 6 across major cities and Dubai
- The airline's fleet has reduced to about 13 aircraft and domestic market share dropped to 0.6%
- DGCA data showed SpiceJet's September flight cancellations exceeded 20%, far above the industry average
From Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru, to Pune, Kolkata and even Dubai, several SpiceJet flights were marked cancelled or delayed with little notice over November 5 and 6. By November 6, passengers were also reporting cancellations of flights scheduled for the following day, without alternate flight selections available. This emphasises a pattern of operational strain at SpiceJet; an airline whose fleet has shrunk to around 13 aircraft and whose domestic market share has fallen to 0.6%.
Flight-status snapshots for the two days show several services marked cancelled. On November 5, SpiceJet flights from Mumbai to Bengaluru, Bengaluru to Mumbai, Mumbai to Kolkata and Bengaluru to Kolkata were among those listed as cancelled. Services from Mumbai and Delhi to Dubai were also marked delayed or cancelled. On November 6, cancellations were listed across routes including Mumbai-Bengaluru, Bengaluru-Mumbai, Delhi-Pune and Delhi-Bengaluru. Some services to Dubai and Mumbai were marked delayed.
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While this is not a complete count of the airline's cancellations or delays on both the days, they point to the uncertainty that passengers are now facing when trying to plan travel, especially around the festive season.
Operational strain
DGCA, or Directorate General of Civil Aviation's, September data shows that SpiceJet cancelled over 20% of its scheduled flights. This is against an industry average of 1.15%. In August as well, its cancellation rate was above 20%.
As per the DGCA data, the airline's on-time performance (at 10 major airports) stood at 16.6% in September. That means 83.4% of its flights did not meet the benchmark, as compared to IndiGo's on-time performance of 91%. The data also showed that around 36,000 passengers faced delays of more than two hours, while another 21,700 were affected by cancellations. Additionally, SpiceJet carried around 73,000 passengers in September, down 87% from 5.9 lakh in January, and its domestic market share has also slipped to 0.6%. Its fleet has also fallen to around 13 aircraft, according to aircraft-tracking website Planespotters.net.
Still, the airline continues to accept bookings for flights as far ahead as July 2027, and that that raises a baseline question of does its available operating capacity even match the schedule it is selling?
Second battle after cancellations
Now, the disruption does not really end when a flight is cancelled. Several passengers have posted complaints on X, ranging from difficulty securing alternative flights during the weekend, surge pricing, delays in receiving refunds and also trouble reaching customer support.
One passenger, who had booked tickets for three people, said a cancelled Dubai-Mumbai booking did not offer an alternative flight, despite the person specifically asking for re-accommodation rather than a refund. Another passenger who had used Paytm for the booking, said the platform had confirmed the cancellation, but the refund was still allegedly pending with the airline, as per Paytm's response.
A lot of other posts described cancellations without prior notification and missing refunds. However, these individual passenger accounts have not been independently verified by NDTV Profit.
This comes after Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu said, on September 22, that the DGCA was conducting operational and financial scrutiny of SpiceJet, with passenger safety and inconvenience among the key priorities of the check.
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