SpiceJet'S scrip crashes nearly five percent

Scrip of beleaguered budget carrier SpiceJet Monday closed 4.39 percent or 0.70 points down at Rs.15.25 per equity share, days after the aviation regulator cracked the whip and imposed certain operational restrictions on the airline.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has sought financial and operational information from the airline by Dec 15 apart for barring it from taking bookings beyond a month.

The DGCA has asked the airline to furnish data regarding bookings and its plans to operate a truncated fleet.

It has also taken into account the number of allocated flying slots given to the airline and directed it to make immediate refunds on cancelled flights.

The aviation regulator is said to have cracked the whip on the airline after it said that as part of its cost-cutting initiative it would only operate 22-24 aircraft, down from 35 planes which were in service till two months ago.

Meanwhile, the company scrip at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) took a knock and fell 4.39 percent at Rs.15.25 per equity share from its previous closing price of Rs.15.95.

The scrip slid to its lowest at Rs.13.90 in the day's trade.

The downfall in the airline's scrip comes amid a string of reports indicating that the budget carrier is facing a financial meltdown and will not be able to continue operations due to an exodus of pilots and mounting debts.

The airline recently reported a Rs.310 crore loss for the quarter ended September, down from the Rs.560 crore loss in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

The airline had also reduced its fleet size and is now operating only 26 aircraft from 35 earlier this year.

Even the company's auditors SR Batliboi & Associates have doubted the airline's ability to stay afloat.