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SpiceJet suspended all Boeing 737 MAX passenger operations on 28 August 2026, attributing the decision to financial and lease constraints rather than any new safety issue with the aircraft type.
The last commercial flight by a SpiceJet 737 MAX was operated by VT-MXD from Kozhikode to Delhi on 20 August 2026; the three recently active aircraft stopped flying within two days of each other.
Earlier, on 9 July 2026, two Dublin-registered lessors filed Irrevocable Deregistration and Export Request Authorisations with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for four SpiceJet 737 MAX aircraft.
The lessors, Sky High LXXX Leasing Company Ltd and Sky High LXXVII Leasing Company Ltd, are special purpose vehicles of ICBCIL Aviation, a subsidiary of ICBC Financial Leasing, itself owned by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
SpiceJet was the only Indian operator of the Boeing 737 MAX, a type grounded in India by the DGCA on 13 March 2019 and cleared to fly again only in August 2021.
The international treaty framework that gives financiers and lessors of aircraft a recognised security interest enforceable across borders. It is the source of the IDERA mechanism.
An authorisation granted in advance by the aircraft operator, naming a creditor who may, on default, procure deregistration of the aircraft from the national register and its export — without needing a fresh court order. It is the principal enforcement tool under the Cape Town Convention, and it is filed with the civil aviation regulator, in India the DGCA.
India's domestic statute giving full effect to the Cape Town Convention and its Aircraft Protocol, in force from 1 May 2025. It was enacted after the insolvency of Go First, where lessors found their treaty rights difficult to enforce in India and IDERAs were not consistently given effect. The Act is what makes the July 2026 filings against SpiceJet operate on a clear statutory footing.
A Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia, the first of the two accidents that led to the type's worldwide grounding.
An Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crashes, killing 157 people including four Indians.
The DGCA grounds all Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in India. SpiceJet was the only Indian operator of the type.
The DGCA lifts the ban after nearly two and a half years, allowing commercial operations to resume.
The Protection of Interests in Aircraft Objects Act, 2025 comes into force, implementing the Cape Town Convention in India.
Two ICBC-linked lessors file IDERAs for four SpiceJet 737 MAX aircraft; the DGCA notifies the airline and publishes the notices.
VT-MXD operates SpiceJet's last commercial 737 MAX flight, Kozhikode to Delhi.
SpiceJet suspends all Boeing 737 MAX passenger operations.
General Awareness > Current Affairs > Business and Economy
General Awareness > Business and Financial Current Affairs
General Awareness > Transport and Current Affairs
Read the below statements marked as Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Mark the correct options: Assertion (A): UDAN Scheme improves regional air connectivity. Reason (R): It provides financial viability gap funding to airlines.
Answer: Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
Irrevocable Deregistration and Export Request Authorisation — an authorisation given in advance by an aircraft operator that lets the named creditor procure deregistration and export of the aircraft on default, without a fresh court order.
The Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment, adopted at Cape Town on 16 November 2001, with a Protocol specific to aircraft equipment; it creates internationally recognised security interests in high-value mobile assets.
The Indian statute in force from 1 May 2025 that implements the Cape Town Convention and its Aircraft Protocol in domestic law, enacted after enforcement problems surfaced in the Go First insolvency.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation — India's civil aviation regulator, which maintains the national aircraft register and acts on deregistration and export requests.
A company created to hold a single asset or a narrow set of assets, commonly used in aircraft leasing so that each aircraft sits in its own ring-fenced entity.