Dubai airport halts SpiceJet check-in services over ₹35.8 crore dues

Dubai airport has imposed a ban on the check-in services of SpiceJet airline, as the airline has not paid outstanding dues of approximately ₹35.8 crore. According to reports, the airport operator stated that SpiceJet owes an amount of 14 million dirhams. Due to the non-payment of these financial dues, check-in services have been suspended since November 12. As a result of this strict action, several SpiceJet flights departing from Dubai had to be cancelled.

Dubai Airports had informed SpiceJet on November 9 that its outstanding dues had increased to 14 million dirhams. The airport operator further stated that no payment had been made by the airline after October 13. The airline was warned that if all outstanding dues were not paid by November 12, check-in services would be shut down. Upon not receiving the funds within the stipulated deadline, Dubai airport finally decided to halt check-in services.

However, amidst this ban, relief was granted to two flights. Flight SG-5115 to Ahmedabad and flight SG-5106 to Delhi were scheduled to depart before the check-in services were shut down, so the ground handling company dnata was permitted to perform check-ins for these two flights.

After the suspension of check-in services, SpiceJet's Dubai station manager instructed the airline's flight operations department to cancel all flights departing from Dubai. Under this, four flights to Amritsar, Jaipur, Mumbai, and Delhi were cancelled on November 12. According to an internal email of the airline, the reason for cancelling these flights was the non-payment to the company dnata. A plan was made to operate these four flights as 'ferry services' without passengers.

Following this incident, the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority has summoned SpiceJet's Dubai station manager. The authority expressed anger at the airline as passengers were not informed of the flight cancellations in a timely manner. The authority has directed SpiceJet to arrange alternative travel for the passengers affected by the flight cancellations, including providing hotel and transport facilities for them.

This action in Dubai comes at a time when SpiceJet is already facing severe financial and operational challenges. According to reports, the airline operates approximately 65 scheduled flights daily, but 15 to 20 of those flights are being cancelled every day. Additionally, several flights are experiencing delays of three to five hours, causing great hardship to passengers.

SpiceJet is said to have large dues to aircraft leasing companies, oil companies, airport operators, and ground handling agencies. Due to the financial crisis, the airline now has to make advance payments to obtain many essential services, which has increased pressure on its daily operations.

According to sources, SpiceJet's operational fleet has now reduced to only 12 aircraft. Out of these 12 aircraft, three are currently grounded due to payment-related issues. The financial crisis is so severe that reports have emerged that employees have not received salaries since June 2026. All these situations are directly affecting the airline's flights and the services provided to passengers.