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SpiceJet operations grounded as oil companies stop fuel supply; COO Sanjiv Kapoor says flights to resume by 4 pm

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Flight operations of cash-strapped SpiceJet were grounded on Wednesday due to non-supply of jet fuel by oil marketing companies.

"Not even a single flight has taken off till this morning due to fuel supply issue with the oil companies," sources said.

Meanwhile, Chief Operating Oficer Sanjeev Kapoor said that flight operations will resume by 4 pm.

The state-run oil marketing firms have not yet taken a decision on the resumption of jet fuel supply to SpiceJet on a two-weeks credit facility, they said.

When contacted, an airline spokesperson said operations were likely to be "normal" shortly.

On December 16, SpiceJet Ltd had admitted to the government that it would not be able to run its operations on its own and has sought to be bailed out of the crisis.

However, giving a relief to the struggling SpiceJet, aviation regulator DGCA on Tuesday temporarily removed the 30-day booking restriction on the airline even as the government once again ruled out any succour to the carrier.

Coming out to the rescue of the beleaguered carrier, the Civil Aviation Ministry had yesterday said it will request the oil companies and the airport operators to extend a 15-day credit facility to SpiceJet in a bid to save the airline from shutting down. The Aviation Ministry had said it may request Indian banks/financial institutions to extended loans of upto Rs 600 crore to the airline as part of measures to keep the carrier functional.

The airline, which had 48 aircraft -- 33 Boeing 737s and 15 Q-400 regional jets, was operating only 35 of them -- 22 B -737s and 13 Q-400s, considerably shrinking its fleet as it lost considerable amounts on a regular basis. It has a 17% domestic market share.

The airline has been losing money and Maran, who owns majority stake in the airline, has already brought in about Rs 250 crore in the airline this year but to no avail.

The carrier has been grappling with operational issues due to crippling cash crunch, which has forced it to resort to large scale flight cancellations over the last few weeks. Dearth of working capital has also made it difficult for it to pay up its dues to vendors on time.

(With agency inputs)

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