DGCA issues a show-cause notice to Spicejet over midair Holi dance by cabin crew

The directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet, asking why its licence should not be suspended, after a video of the cabin crew on a Goa-Bangalore flight dancing in the aisles went viral on social media.

A preliminary probe ordered by DGCA chief Prabhat Kumarhas revealed that similar 'shows' took place on other flights, including Delhi-Goa-Delhi; Jaipur-Mumbai-Delhi; Mumbai-Bangalore-Kolkata and Bangalore-Pune-Ahmedabad. The cabin crew cavorted to Bollywood chartbuster 'Balam Pichkari' 35,000 feet up in the air while pilots took pictures on their mobile phones. Passengers can be seen in the video, cheering and clapping along.

But while the song may have helped Ranbir Kapoor-Deepika Padukone starrer 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani' take off at the box-office, DGCA is now threatening to ground the airline.

The DGCA notice states that crew and passengers dancing in the aisles endangered aircraft safety.

Using a video shot on the SG 876 Goa-Bangalore flight as evidence, the notice states, "Cabin crew acts had drawn the attention of other crew on duty, thus reducing their preparedness/alertness. The frequent movement of the dancing crew may have affected the aircraft's centre of gravity during flight and created turbulence."

The airline is charged with permitting use of cellphones in the air to take pictures "which is against present regulation". It is accused of creating an environment that "might have instigated passengers to become unruly.... It is established that SpiceJet failed to observe various safety regulations to provide a safe flight."

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