SpiceJet Crisis: Salaries Unpaid, Flights Delayed; Airline in Deep Trouble

The airline's troubles are getting worse. A Kochi-Fujairah flight has been badly delayed, and a Dubai-Kochi flight is running five hours late. SpiceJet officials said the flight to Fujairah, scheduled for 9:35 PM tonight, will now depart at 1:30 AM tomorrow.

Kochi: SpiceJet is in serious trouble, stuck in a major financial crisis, operational chaos, and a mountain of pending dues. The airline is facing a huge challenge as it hasn't paid its employees' salaries and owes large sums of money to airports.

Things got so bad that Dubai airport recently stopped a SpiceJet flight from landing because of these unpaid dues. The plane was only allowed to land after the airline made the payment. Amid this crisis, the Kochi-Fujairah flight service has been severely disrupted. A Dubai-Kochi flight is also set to depart five hours late. Officials announced that the Kochi-Fujairah flight, scheduled to leave at 9:35 PM tonight, will now take off only at 1:30 AM tomorrow.

This isn't a one-off incident. Just yesterday, passengers for an 11:30 PM flight to Fujairah and a 1:00 AM flight to Dubai were left stranded at the airport. These constant delays by SpiceJet are creating endless problems for travellers. Reports suggest that so far, neither CIAL nor the terminal manager has stepped in to address the issue.

Even SpiceJet's own staff have no clear answers for the delays. When passengers asked, the staff revealed that they haven't been paid their salaries for the last four months. They reportedly told passengers to look for other travel options.

SpiceJet's presence at Kochi's Nedumbassery International Airport is already very limited. The company doesn't even have a proper office at the airport, with only 14 employees managing its operations there. On top of this, sources say the airline owes lakhs in unpaid bills to hotels that provide accommodation for its staff and crew. It's believed that SpiceJet owes crores in dues to various airports, and this, along with unpaid salaries, is the main reason for its current operational mess.