Mumbai: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended two SpiceJet pilots for leaving the cockpit to watch cabin crew perform a Holi dance during a flight on Monday. It has also issued a notice to the airline, asking why its operating permit should not be suspended.
The airline says there was no safety violation, adding a Holi dance by cabin crew on board an aircraft was new to India but similar fun activities were held by airlines round the world.
The DGCA action has come after video recordings came to light, showing the cabin crew dancing in the aisle area, with the pilots present, on a Goa-Bangalore flight. SpiceJet carried out these on as many as eight of its flights.
SpiceJet said it had not got the notice yet but based on media reports, it expected one. “The activity, while maybe a first in India, is very similar to what is done by airlines to surprise passengers in the US, Europe and elsewhere in Asia, by airlines such as Southwest in the US, Virgin in Europe and Air Asia, videos of which are also freely viewable on YouTube,” it said.
The airline said it was a 2.5-minute sequence, performed by trained cabin crew who volunteered, both male and female, and consisted mainly of twirling hand movements. Extra cabin crew and managers were on the flights to ensure the front and rear galleys were staffed for those 2.5 minutes, and to ensure all planned activities were well-supervised.
20/03/14 Business Standard
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The airline says there was no safety violation, adding a Holi dance by cabin crew on board an aircraft was new to India but similar fun activities were held by airlines round the world.
The DGCA action has come after video recordings came to light, showing the cabin crew dancing in the aisle area, with the pilots present, on a Goa-Bangalore flight. SpiceJet carried out these on as many as eight of its flights.
SpiceJet said it had not got the notice yet but based on media reports, it expected one. “The activity, while maybe a first in India, is very similar to what is done by airlines to surprise passengers in the US, Europe and elsewhere in Asia, by airlines such as Southwest in the US, Virgin in Europe and Air Asia, videos of which are also freely viewable on YouTube,” it said.
The airline said it was a 2.5-minute sequence, performed by trained cabin crew who volunteered, both male and female, and consisted mainly of twirling hand movements. Extra cabin crew and managers were on the flights to ensure the front and rear galleys were staffed for those 2.5 minutes, and to ensure all planned activities were well-supervised.
20/03/14 Business Standard
