Aviation safety issues: Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told senior officials from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) not to "compromise over safety of passengers" during a high-level meeting chaired by him on Sunday.
A MoCA official said the Union Minister made it clear that there should be no compromises when it comes to the safety of people.
"Civil Aviation Minister Scindia directed the officials in the meeting to not compromise with the passengers' safety, adding that safety is the paramount priority," said a MoCA official. The official added that Scindia asked officials to strictly adhere to the prescribed safety norms.
Plea against SpiceJet in Delhi HC amid malfunctions
A petition has been filed in Delhi High Court, demanding that all SpiceJet flights be grounded amid back-to-back malfunctions. The plea also mentioned that the flights should be stopped to avert a major incident, where there can be big loss to life and property.
SpiceJet has failed to establish safe, efficient and reliable air service, mentioned the plea. The plea filed by lawyer Rahul Bhardwaj said multiple recent incidents have occurred in connection to Spicejet flights.
Technical malfunction incidents on the rise
An Air India Express VT-AXX operating flight IX-355 en route to Dubai from Calicut was diverted to Muscat on Sunday, after a "burning smell" started emitting from one of the vents in the airplane, informed the DGCA. The flight had taken off last night from Calicut for Dubai.
The crew checked for any smoke or fire when the burning smell was felt. However, no such thing was found. Despite so, the flight was diverted to Muscat as a precautionary measure.
In another incident, SpiceJet's Dubai-Madurai flight was on Monday delayed after the Boeing B737 Max aircraft's nose wheel malfunctioned, Directorate General of Civil Aviation officials said.
Monday's incident is at least the ninth incident of technical malfunction in a SpiceJet aircraft in 24 days.
SpiceJet Showcaused Earlier
Aviation regulator DGCA had earlier issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet after its aircraft were hit by eight incidents of mid-air technical malfunction over the last 18 days, saying the budget carrier has "failed" to establish safe, efficient and reliable air services.
As a DGCA review of the incidents showed that "poor" internal safety oversight and "inadequate" maintenance actions have resulted in "degradation" of the safety margins of SpiceJet, the airline's chief Ajay Singh asserted it will be "doubly careful" and strengthen inspection of aircraft before the operation of their flights. A SpiceJet statement also said it is committed to ensuring a safe operation for its passengers and crew.
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