ICAO audit finds SpiceJet's operations, safety processes strong; stock jumps 2%

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) found the operations and safety processes of budget airline SpiceJet to be strong. It is the only scheduled Indian airline to be audited by an international body.

The audit of the SpiceJet safety systems has helped India to achieve highest ever safety ranking in the ICAO audit. ICAO is a specialised agency of the United Nations to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation around the world. 

The comprehensive and exhaustive audit by ICAO firmly establishes SpiceJet’s credentials as a safe airline, an exchange filing of the company said.

The Auditing Committee of ICAO, on November 14, 2022, visited the SpiceJet Head Office, from where all the aviation company’s flights are controlled, the official statement of SpiceJet said. 

Also Read: SpiceJet shares decline over 4% after Q2 loss widens to Rs 837.8 crore

They audited and reviewed the various flight critical functions and operational areas such as flight planning, weather assessment, route planning, aircraft serviceability, operations to critical airports, pilot rostering systems, cabin safety procedures etc. 

“The ICAO audit is the benchmark of safety. We are proud that our safety culture, systems, processes and operations have been found to be in order and at par with the global best practices and safety standards,” said Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet. 

SpiceJet was the only scheduled Indian airline to undergo validation checks by ICAO in this audit, Singh mentioned.

Also Read: SpiceJet, IndiGo, Jet Airways stocks gain up to 9% as government raises loan limit

“SpiceJet is truly humbled at playing a role in India achieving the highest ever safety ranking and making it to the top 50 nations in terms of ICAO aviation safety audit scores,” Singh said. 

This audit is a testament to the highest standard of safety followed by SpiceJet, the chairman and MD added. 

Significantly, in the field of primary aviation legislation and specific operating regulations, India’s effective implementation (EI) is now reportedly 100% – up from 90.48% in 2018. 

SpiceJet has been running a safe airline for 17 years and continues to do so. SpiceJet has flown with the highest passenger load factor in the Indian skies for a record seven years.  

Shares of SpiceJet have been trading near day’s high level of Rs 39.75 per share, up over 2 per cent on the BSE intraday as compared to around 0.3 per cent fall in the S&P BSE Sensex.