India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has removed SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International) from an enhanced surveillance regime after conducting scores of unannounced spot checks on aircraft and finding no major safety or operational issues.

DGCA sources told CNBC-TV18 that after making observations of inadequate maintenance and a series of safety incidents recently, they decided to put SpiceJet under enhanced surveillance earlier this month. At the time, SpiceJet denied the reports. However, a DGCA spokesperson told Indian media outlets yesterday that "51 spot checks were conducted across 11 locations across India, on the B737 and DHC-8-Q400 fleet of aircraft, where in a total 23 aircraft were inspected and 95 observations were made by the DGCA teams. Suitable maintenance action was taken by the airline to address the findings in accordance with DGCA guidelines. As a consequence, SpiceJet has been taken off the enhanced surveillance regime by DGCA."

The spokesperson added that the inspections involved increased night surveillance and spot checks to ensure the airline’s adherence to safety standards. SpiceJet did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment.

Separately, SpiceJet's busy calendar of courtroom appearances continues apace, with the airline appearing before India's Supreme Court on July 25 over a contract dispute with Credit Suisse. SpiceJet signed a ten year MRO contract in 2011 with Zurich-based SR Technics, who outsourced the collection of payments to the bank the following year.

According to a report in India's Business Standard newspaper, SR Technics had accrued USD24.1 million in unpaid SpiceJet invoices across 2013. This followed problems extracting payment from the airline in 2012.

In late 2021, Credit Suisse commenced winding up action against SpiceJet over the debt. However, in May 2022, the two parties reached an agreement whereby SpiceJet would pay USD500,000 on the 15th of each month towards reducing its debt.

Earlier this year, Credit Suisse began legal proceedings afresh, alleging SpiceJet was behind on those instalment. In court this week, Niranjan Reddy, appearing for Credit Suisse, said the airline had made no payments towards reducing the amount owed since the bank launched its current proceedings.

However, counsel appearing for SpiceJet told the court the airline had made just under USD2 million in payments since the 2022 settlement and said he would speak to his clients about increasing the monthly repayments. The court adjourned the matter, setting a mid-August date for the next hearing.