SpiceJet has denied media reports that the Director General of Civil Aviation asked the company to refund the amounts for bookings made beyond 30 days from now.
Several media, including the Times of India, reported that the company has been told to refund the bookings made beyond 30 days. SpiceJet has thousands of bookings stretching all the way to the late 2015, made under various discount offers and schemes.
In a statement, the company said the such media reports have caused confusion among its passengers and agents.
“It has been reported is some newspapers, notably the Times of India, that the DGCA has asked SpiceJet to refund bookings made beyond 30 days. This is absolutely incorrect and false information, and is causing a lot of confusion amongst travel agents and passengers. There has been NO such notification. There is NO requirement to refund passengers who have bookings beyond 30 days,” the airline said.
“SpiceJet appeals to the media to please check their claims and information from unnamed “sources” with us before publishing false and misleading information,” it added.
“This is the time for the media to be a positive influence in ensuring accurate information is disseminated to the public, and not sensational and false information which does disservice to all stakeholders and the public at large.”
It also attacked other speculative reports from the media. “It has also been reported in some publications that resignation of pilots has resulted in a pilot shortage and the remaining pilots having to fly extra hours, with potential safety implications. This is also a completely baseless and factually incorrect statement.
“Pilots who have resigned are serving their notice period and are still flying with us. With our fleet reduction, the average flying hours per pilot is less, not more, than before. Even after the pilots on notice part ways with SpiceJet in the coming months, we will have more than enough pilots to fly our fleet with no FDTL violations.”
SpiceJet is the second airline to allege that media is being unfair in its coverage of the company. In August, Air India accused sections of the media of working with an agenda against the company at a time when it was trying to renew itself.