SpiceJet shares surge nearly 5% after Civil Aviation Minister orders 10% curtailment of IndiGo flights

Shares of the country's leading airline SpiceJet rose as much as 4.93% to hit an intraday high of ₹36 on the BSE a day after Civil Aviation Minister has asked for a 10% cut in planned IndiGo flights to help restore order at India's biggest airline, which cancelled thousands of flights nationwide after failing to plan for tighter safety regulations.

Analysts say that curtailment of IndiGo flights will be beneficial for SpiceJet and other carriers as it will lead to higher demand for other airlines.

Posting a picture of IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers, sitting with folded hands in front of him, Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, in a post on X, said that the airline management was summoned to the ministry to provide an update.

"The Ministry considers it necessary to curtail the overall Indigo routes, which will help in stabilising the airline's operations and lead to reduced cancellations. A curtailment of 10% has been ordered. While abiding by it, Indigo will continue to cover all its destinations as before," he said.

The curtailment is double of what the sector regulator DGCA had ordered on Monday.

As part of the winter schedule for 2025-26, the airline has been operating over 2,200 flights per day.

Airline, on its part, said there was "steady improvement across the network", as it reinstated flights to all 138 stations. It flew more than 1,800 flights on Tuesday, which will go up to nearly 1,900 on Wednesday, IndiGo said in a statement.

"We have optimised our operations, and our on-time performance is also back to normal levels," it added.

Earlier in the day, Minister Naidu in the Lok Sabha said that no airline, however large, will be permitted to cause hardship to passengers through planning failures and non-compliance with regulations.

"Strict and appropriate action will be taken."

The DGCA, he said, has already issued notices to IndiGo and that the airline is being held fully accountable for the chaos caused by its internal crew-rostering failures.

IndiGo flight schedules are stabilising, and all other airlines continue to operate smoothly across the country, he said.

SpiceJet Q2

SpiceJet last month reported a consolidated net loss of ₹621.29 crore in the second quarter of the 2025-26 financial year (Q2FY26), which widened from a loss of ₹457.87 crore it logged in the year-ago period.

The net loss widened as multiple factors, including foreign exchange loss, additional expenses related to grounded as well as reinducted aircraft, and airspace curbs, hit the budget carrier's bottom line.

"The results for the seasonally weak quarter were primarily driven by the impact of recalibrating dollar-based future obligations along with carrying cost of grounded fleet and additional expenses incurred towards RTS (Return to Service)," it said in a regulatory filing.

SpiceJet incurred costs of ₹120 crore related to the grounded fleet and expenses of ₹30 crore, with respect to aircraft that returned to service.

Its net loss, excluding the forex loss, stood at ₹447.70 crore, an increase from ₹424.26 crore on an annual basis.

As of 10:10 am, SpiceJet shares erased intraday gains to trade 0.32% lower at ₹34.20.