The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday barred 90 SpiceJet pilots from operating Boeing 737 Max aircraft, after finding them not properly trained to fly these planes.

“For the moment, we have barred these pilots from flying Max and they have to retrain successfully for flying Max. Also, we will take strict action against those found responsible for the lapse,” DGCA director-general Arun Kumar said in a statement.

In March 2019, DGCA grounded Boeing 737 Max planes, following the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines’ aircraft near Addis Ababa, killing 157 people, including four Indians. However, the ban was later lifted in August 2021, with conditions, after the aviation regulator was satisfied with Boeing’s software upgrades and rectifications. Proper simulator training for pilots was one of the conditions for lifting of the ban.

A SpiceJet spokesperson said that the development would not impact its operations of Max aircraft.

“This restriction does not impact the operations of Max aircraft, whatsoever. SpiceJet currently operates 11 Max aircraft and about 144 pilots are required to operate these 11 aircraft. Of the 650 trained pilots on the Max, 560 continue to remain available, which is much more than the current requirement,” the spokesperson said.

“SpiceJet has 650 pilots trained for operating Boeing 737 Max. DGCA had an observation on the training profile followed for 90 Pilots, and therefore, as per the advice of DGCA, SpiceJet has restricted 90 pilots from operating the Max aircraft, until these pilots undergo re-training to the satisfaction of DGCA. These pilots continue to remain available for other Boeing 737 aircraft,” the spokesperson added.

At present, low-cost carrier SpiceJet is the only Indian airline operating the Max aircraft. Akasa Air, the new airline backed by investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, had signed a deal in November last year to purchase 72 Max planes.

The Boeing 737 Max is the fourth generation of the Boeing 737, a narrow-body airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA). It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation and competes with the Airbus A320neo family. The 737 Max series came in four variants, with a 6,110-7,130 km range.

According to earlier reports, the 737 Max suffered a recurring failure in its Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which caused two fatal accidents, Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, in which a total of 346 people died.