Tightening noose against errant air passenger carriers, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has directed SpiceJet to refund fare to all passengers of a Mumbai-Delhi flight that was delayed by about five hours last month, officials said on Monday.
In a first-of-its-kind action, the aviation regulator has also asked the no-frills airline to refund the money it charged from passengers of this delayed flight by selling food and beverages, instead of offering it free in accordance with the laid-down rules.
The Boeing 737-800 aircraft (VT-SGO), carrying 172 passengers including two infants, suffered engineering problems which led the pilots to abort take-off and return to the bay.
Another plane was pressed into service, replacing the 189-seater aircraft, to operate Flight SG-419 on June 16 after a delay of over four-and-a-half hours.
Acting on a complaint of a passenger, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducted an investigation and found that the flight was delayed due to ‘technical problems twice on account of ‘leading edge flap transit light’ and rejected take-off due ‘take-off configuration’ warning, the officials said.
The warning flashed on the cockpit flight panel, indicating there would be no airconditioning through the entire flight after take-off. This led to the flight being aborted and the aircraft changed.
The DGCA probe found that during the entire delay at Mumbai, SpiceJet sold food and beverages in the aircraft in violation of rules.
In a first-of-its-kind action, the aviation regulator has also asked the no-frills airline to refund the money it charged from passengers of this delayed flight by selling food and beverages, instead of offering it free in accordance with the laid-down rules.
The Boeing 737-800 aircraft (VT-SGO), carrying 172 passengers including two infants, suffered engineering problems which led the pilots to abort take-off and return to the bay.
Another plane was pressed into service, replacing the 189-seater aircraft, to operate Flight SG-419 on June 16 after a delay of over four-and-a-half hours.
Acting on a complaint of a passenger, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducted an investigation and found that the flight was delayed due to ‘technical problems twice on account of ‘leading edge flap transit light’ and rejected take-off due ‘take-off configuration’ warning, the officials said.
The warning flashed on the cockpit flight panel, indicating there would be no airconditioning through the entire flight after take-off. This led to the flight being aborted and the aircraft changed.
The DGCA probe found that during the entire delay at Mumbai, SpiceJet sold food and beverages in the aircraft in violation of rules.