SpiceJet suspends seaplane ops for maintenance

SpiceJet (SG, Delhi Int’l) suspended its only seaplane route on November 27, 2020, due to the maintenance of the DHC-6-300 it has wet-leased from Maldivian (Q2, Malé). Services are due to restart on December 15, 2020, although this has yet to be reflected in the carrier’s internet booking engine. As first reported by the Hindustan Times, the maintenance work was pre-planned, and SpiceJet has not sold any tickets for the period of suspension. The Indian carrier launched the route from the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad to the Statue of Unity in Kevadia on October 31, 2020. Services are formally sold by SpiceShuttle, the carrier’s wholly-owned subsidiary which does not, however, have its own Air Operator’s Certificate. The aircraft, 8Q-ISC (msn 321), was ferried via Genoa, Kochi Int’l, and Hanimaadhoo to Malé over the course of November 28-29, 2020, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. It will undergo the required maintenance at the Maldivian gateway. SpiceJet said it planned to open its own seaplane maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility in Ahmedabad, which would obviate the need to ferry the turboprop back to the Maldives for maintenance.