SpiceJet passengers stranded at Dubai airport after flight cancellations
Mumbai (PTI): Hundreds of SpiceJet passengers were stranded at the Dubai airport on Wednesday after some flights were cancelled due to to non-payment of dues by the airline to the Dubai airport authorities, according to a source.
A SpiceJet spokesperson on Thursday said few flights from Dubai to India were cancelled due to operational reasons on Wednesday but did not elaborate.
The source in the know said around 10 SpiceJet flights, which were to be operated to various Indian cities from Dubai, were cancelled due to non-payment of dues.
Hundreds of passengers were stranded at Dubai airport as a result of this, the source said.
"On July 31, 2024, a few flights from Dubai to India were cancelled due to operational reasons.
"The airline took immediate steps to mitigate the impact by rebooking affected passengers on subsequent flights and providing hotel accommodations," the airline spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that all its scheduled flights from Dubai are now operating as planned.
Ajay Singh-promoted debt-ridden SpiceJet has been struggling for funds for quite some time now with the airline delaying salaries to its staff and payments to its vendors.
It has also reportedly not deposited the Employee Provident Fund Contributions to its 11,581 staff since January 2022.
Though the airline reported a standalone profit of Rs 119 crore in the January-March quarter of the previous fiscal, for the December quarter of the same year its losses stood at Rs 301.45 crore as against a profit of Rs 106.82 crore in FY23.
For full fiscal 2023-24, the airline posted a loss of Rs 409.43 crore against a loss of Rs 1,503 crore in FY23, the filing said.
On July 23, SpiceJet's board approved the airline's proposal to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore by issuing equity shares or other securities through the qualified institutional placement (QIP) process.
In January this year, SpiceJet received in-principle approval from the BSE for a fund infusion of Rs 2,242 crore but could mop up only Rs 1,060 crore under preferential issue in two tranches.
As on August 2 as many as 37 aircraft -- 18 Boeing 737 and 18 regional jets Q400 and one A340 -- were on ground, owing to multiple reasons, as per the aircraft fleet tracking website planespotter.net.
SpiceJet has a total of 59 planes in its fleet which include 32 Boeing737 and 24 Q400.
Besides, it also has one Airbus 340 and two Airbus A320, which are on wet-lease.
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Prasidh, Kuldeep limit South Africa to 270 after De Kock's hundred
Visakhapatnam (PTI): India fought back gallantly through Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav after Quinton de Kock struck his 23rd hundred, keeping South Africa to a manageable 270 in the third and series-deciding final ODI, here Saturday.
India won the toss after judging the spin of the coin incorrectly 20 times in a row. They had little hesitation in inserting the Proteas into bat, a clear indication of dew factor dominating the thought.
After Arshdeep Singh sent back Ryan Rickelton early, De Kock (106, 89b, 8x4, 6x4) struck his seventh century against India and put on 113 runs off 124 balls with skipper Temba Bavuma (48, 67b) as the visitors moved to a healthy position.
De Kock was severe on Prasidh (4/66), who erred on length continuously in his first spell (2-0-27-0). The left-hander biffed the pacer for 6, 6, 4 in his second over to milk 18 runs.
The 32-year-old quickly pounced on anything that was short, and pacers Prasidh and Harshit offered him plenty of feed on his pet areas.
Bavuma was more sedate, and made runs through those typical dabs and jabs, occasionally unfurling a drive of elan.
De Kock moved to fifty in 42 balls, and never let the tempo down reaching his hundred in 79 balls.
India found temporary relief when Ravindra Jadeja induced a false slash from Bavuma to get caught by Virat Kohli at point.
The tourists got another move on through a 54-run partnership between De Kock and Matthew Breetzkle for the third wicket, and at 168 for two in 28 overs they were in a good position to press on.
But Breetzke's punishment of part-time spinner Tilak Varma forced a rethink in the Indian camp, as skipper KL Rahul brought back Prasidh for a second spell.
What a masterstroke it turned out to be! The Karnataka man broke the back of South Africa’s top and middle order in an exceptional second spell (4-0-11-3).
Breetzke was the first man to go, trapped plumb in front with a straight one and four balls later Aiden Markram uppishly chipped a fuller delivery to Kohli at short covers.
Prasidh soon castled De Kock, whose ugly cross-batted swipe failed to connect a full length delivery from the pacer.
All of a sudden, SA found themselves at a shaky 199 for five, losing three wickets in the space of three overs.
Once Prasidh was done away with the top and middle-order, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep (4/41) took over and mopped up the tail as SA fell short of even a par total on this track.
