NEW DELHI: As flyers took to social media over frequent cancellations and long delays of SpiceJet flights at different airports, a clear reason has emerged for cancellations.
The airline’s inability to pay mandatory charges to use airports has led to a situation in which it is not permitted to operate by airport authorities, said sources.
A senior Airports Authority of India official told this reporter that airport charges are levied on the services used by a plane at an airport. SpiceJet has been permitted a cash-and-carry model to pay the charges by the Civil Aviation Ministry for quite some time, explained an airport source, while other airlines pay the charges once in a month or per quarter.
Meanwhile, trouble continued to mount for the financially crippled airline as the Indian Association of Tour Operators reached out to Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Tuesday seeking his help. The frequent cancellation of Spicejet flights to Sri Vijayapuram airport (earlier Port Blair) was impacting tourism in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the association said in a letter to the minister.