BENGALURU, July 28 Reuters Shares of India39;s SpiceJet fell as much as 9.3 on Thursday, a day after the country39;s aviation regulator ordered the budget carrier to slash its approved fleet to 50 this summer for eight weeks, citing multiple safety snags.

The Director General of Civil Aviation DGCA also said on Wednesday that the domestic airline will be subjected to enhanced surveillance.

SpiceJet sought to reassure its customers and said there was absolutely no impact on its flight operations after the DGCA order.

Earlier this month, the watchdog had issued a warning notice to SpiceJet after a review of incidents, which included a side windshield outer pane that cracked midflight and a malfunctioning indicator light. read more

SpiceJet is taking measures for arresting the trend of incidents. However, the airline needs to sustain these efforts for safe and reliable air transport service, the DGCA said in its order on Wednesday.

The move comes within days after India39;s aviation ministry told the parliament that the DGCA did not find any major significant finding or safety violation in SpiceJet.

SpiceJet shares, which touched on Thursday their lowest levels since March 2020, are down about 44 so far this year.

Domestic air travel demand tends to be very weak in September quarter, and thus, fares tend to drop on a quarteronquarter basis. This year, with SpiceJet39;s capacity curtailed, the industry should be able to support better pricing, Morgan Stanley…