Beleaguered budget airline SpiceJet has cancelled over 1,800 flights for this month, raising further questions on the airline's ability to keep flying.
The Sun Group-owned airline posted the information on its website, saying that 1,861 flights have been cancelled, till December 31. Some of the flights were bound for Kathmandu, while the rest were domestic flights, reported Economic Times.
The scale of cancellations comes in the midst of the aviation regulator DGCA considering a show-cause notice to the airline for contravening directives on advance bookings.
The regulator had earlier this month restricted SpiceJet to limit advance bookings to a 30-day window.
Simultaneously, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which has an outstanding of around ₹200 crore, plans to put SpiceJet in cash-and-carry mode, if bank guarantees are not furnished. The move could prove disastrous for consumer and investor sentiment.
The persisting stress on SpiceJet's financials has forced the DGCA on Friday to withdraw 186 slots alloted to the airline. The regulator also asked the airline to clear pending salary dues to the employees within 10 days.
The scrip was trading at 15.80, up by 0.55 or 3.61%, at 10.14 AM Tuesday.
