SpiceJet CFO Resigns Amid Mounting Losses, Mid-Air Malfunctions

On Wednesday, the carrier reported a net loss of Rs 789 crore for the three months ended June. The company had faced a loss of Rs 731 crore last year.

(Photo: The Quint)

Amid mounting losses, and a slew of flight malfunctions, SpiceJet on Wednesday, 31 August, said that its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sanjeev Taneja has resigned, reported Reuters.

On Wednesday, the carrier reported a net loss of Rs 789 crore for three months ending in June. The company had faced a loss of Rs 731 crore last year.

It had also witnessed a loss of Rs 485 crore in the quarter ending March, which the company said was delayed owing to cyber security attack.

SpiceJet has said it hopes to raise funds upto Rs 200 million.

DGCA Deregisters Two More SpiceJet Planes

Meanwhile, Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday deregistered two more Boeing 737 planes of SpiceJet following non-payment of dues to lessors.

With the latest deregistration, a total of six Boeing 737 aircraft of the budget carrier have been deregistered in August.

Boeing 737-800 aircraft VT-SPU and Boeing 737-900ER aircraft VT-SGQ have been deregistered under IDERA on August 31, according to a senior official at the DGCA.

Under the Cape Town Convention, lessors and lenders can seek deregistration of a leased aircraft in case there is a default.

Such requests are done under Irrevocable De-registration and Export Request Authorisation (IDERA).

'Delay in Salary Payment'

SpiceJet employees on Wednesday alleged delay in the disbursal of salaries for the second straight month, with the budget airline saying the payments were being made in a "graded format".

There was a delay in disbursal of salary for staff, including flight crew, for the month of July and many are yet to get the Form 16 for the financial year 2021-22 as well, SpiceJet employees claimed.

"The salary disbursal was timely for June. Also, the salaries are yet to match the pre-COVID-19 levels. The salaries being disbursed to captains and first officers are not even 50 percent of what they used to be before the pandemic outbreak in March 2020," an employee told PTI.

However, SpiceJet claimed it has started salary disbursal in a "graded format".

"We have started crediting salaries from today. Like the previous month, salary will be credited in a graded format," the airline said in a statement to PTI.

In the wake of the pandemic and continued irregularities in salaries, scores of pilots have left SpiceJet in recent months. They included first officers as well as captains of its Boeing 737 fleet.

The pilots and flight crew members have often flagged stress issues due to financial irregularities.

In recent months, SpiceJet has been facing turbulent times, including financial headwinds. In July, the regulator directed the airline to operate only 50 percent of flights in the wake of many of its planes facing technical issues.

(With inputs from Reuters, PTI.)