 "After day of disarray, Spicejet finally resumes operations")
SpiceJet Airline's odyssey may ease shortly, with the ariline's chief operating officer Sanjiv Kapoor saying it would resume flights on or after 4 p.m. Wednesday. Kapoor made the statement shortly after 1 p.m. on micro-blogging social media platform Twitter.
The day started on a bleak note for the embattled airline, which had to ground all its flights after public sector oil companies declined to supply it with fuel despite a Tuesday request from the civil aviation ministry to extend it 15-day credit.
There were no departures nationwide as the airline is reportedly yet to pay its main supplier Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL), which has already put SpiceJet on a cash-and-carry basis for the past few months. The airline sources fuel worth Rs 3.5 crore daily from the PSU. Mumbai airport saw only two SpiceJet arrivals this morning -- from Goa and Dubai. In Chennai, the airline cancelled its flight to the Andaman Islands, leading to angry protests by passengers.
The day started on a bleak note for the embattled airline, which had to ground all its flights after public sector oil companies declined to supply it with fuel despite a Tuesday request from the civil aviation ministry to extend it 15-day credit.
There were no departures nationwide as the airline is reportedly yet to pay its main supplier Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL), which has already put SpiceJet on a cash-and-carry basis for the past few months. The airline sources fuel worth Rs 3.5 crore daily from the PSU. Mumbai airport saw only two SpiceJet arrivals this morning -- from Goa and Dubai. In Chennai, the airline cancelled its flight to the Andaman Islands, leading to angry protests by passengers.
Passengers protest in front of the SpiceJet counter at Chennai after their flight to Port Blair was cancelled
Return flights from Port Blair to Chennai and Kolkata have also been cancelled, adding to the hardships of the stranded passengers. "Originally we were supposed to fly to Mumbai via Chennai but later the airline rescheduled our trip via kolkata. Both the flights have been cancelled. The airline is not even accomodating us on flights of other airlines. We cannot afford last minute tickets. How will we return home," a stranded passenger Sohan Chowdhury asks in desperation.
In another sign of weakening confidence about the airline, leading online travel agency MakeMyTrip.com has 'temporarily suspended' bookings for the airline.
Kapoor later apologised for the disruption through a statement on Twitter.
On Tuesday morning, too, SpiceJet was unable to fuel its aircraft in Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad, resulting in cancellations and rescheduling of flights. A spokesperson for the carrier had attributed the disruption to "operational issues".
Later in the day, the civil aviation ministry requested public sector oil companies to give the airline credit for up to 15 days.
"The Public Sector Oil Companies would be requested to give credit for upto 15 days. (The daily off-take of the airlines is about Rs 5 crores. This would amount to about Rs 75 crores. The dues pending is only Rs 14 crores as on 15-12-2014)" the ministry had said in a statement.
Security at Bombay Airport in lieu of protests at Port Blair, due to cancelled Spicejet flights
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The government on Tuesday also approved a series of measures to bail out the cash-strapped airline. After hectic discussions that ran late into the night on Monday, the ministry of civil aviation said on Tuesday that banks could be requested to give working capital loans based on assurances by the promoter.
Civil aviation ministry officials further said the finance ministry would be requested to permit external commercial borrowings (ECBs) for working capital as a special dispensation, as had been done in 2012 when a similar crisis had arisen in the aviation sector.
Overturning directions issued by the regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the ministry of civil aviation also lifted the 30-day booking restriction imposed on the ailing carrier. The ministry said airport operators would be requested to give 15 days to the airline to make payments. SpiceJet has dues of around Rs 200 crore towards the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and another Rs 80 crore towards other airport operators. The airline could be put on cash-and-carry mode if it fails to settle dues.