The Indian DGCA is investigating the reason behind some SpiceJet passengers walking on the apron at Delhi Airport.

The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is currently investigating why a significant number of passengers of a SpiceJet flight from Hyderabad to Delhi walked on the apron upon arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport. Reportedly, the airline was unable to provide a bus to transfer them to the terminal for approximately 45 minutes.

At 11:24 pm on Saturday 6th of August, a SpiceJet flight carrying 186 passengers from Hyderabad landed at Delhi International Airport. Apparently, a bus arrived immediately to transfer part of the passengers from the aircraft to terminal 3. After waiting for approximately 45 minutes, a group of the remaining customers decided to make their way to the airport by walking on the airport's apron. At around 12:20 pm, 11 minutes after the passengers had left the plane, other coaches arrived and carried all the remaining passengers to the arrivals terminal.

According to SpiceJet's statement, there was a brief delay in providing the buses, which then carried all passengers, including those who had started to walk towards the airport, to the terminal building. Moreover, the airline affirmed that those who walked covered a distance of just a few meters when they were met by the coaches. Furthermore, the airline denied any statements implying that passengers were forced to walk to the terminal building.

The investigation by the DGCA is no good news for SpiceJet, whose safety has been repeatedly put into question over the last few weeks.

After experiencing several technical incidents, at the end of July, the DGCA imposed a curb on the airline's capacity, which is now not allowed to operate more than 50% of its flights for a period of eight weeks because of its inability to provide "safe, efficient and reliable air services". The series of incidents has most likely affected the airline's capacity, as measured in Available Seat Kilometers (ASKs), which, according to the Official Airline Guide (OAG), decreased by 7% in July compared to June 2022 and by 43% compared to what it was in the same month in 2019.

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Over a short period of just 24 days, SpiceJet has faced several technical failures, which led the Indian DGCA to take action.

On July 12th, a SpiceJet flight from Dubai to Mumbai was delayed because of a technical issue with the B737 Max's nose wheel. A week before, on July 5th, a SpiceJet aircraft flying from Kandla to Mumbai made an emergency landing in Mumbai because a crack had formed on the plane's windshield while airborne. On the same day, a SpiceJet service from Delhi to Dubai made an unscheduled landing in Karachi, Pakistan, because of a damaged fuel indicator.

Not only is it unusual for an airline to experience a double incident on the same day, but it is virtually unheard of for a carrier to experience this nightmare twice. However, on June 19th, an emergency landing was requested by a Spicejet crew because of a fire caused by a bird strike; on the same day, a flight to Jabalpur returned to Delhi because of a cabin pressurization issue.

The incident at Delhi International Airport happened at a very inconvenient time for SpiceJet, which had received approval from the DGCA to progressively restore capacity after the limit imposed for safety concerns.

Simple Flying reached out to SpiceJet for further comment. We will update the article with any additional announcements from the airline.

Do you think SpiceJet should be accounted responsible for the incident that happened at Delhi International Airport last Saturday? Let us know in the comments below!

Writer - Giacomo has been passionate about commercial aviation since his very childhood. Currently, he is pursuing a master's in Air Transport Management at the University of Surrey, UK. His expertise within the industry entails an internship with Emirates Airlines in Milan Malpensa airport and a bachelor's thesis on the financial crisis of the former Italian national carrier, Alitalia. Besides aviation, Giacomo loves foreign languages, German being his favorite one.