SR December-15 issue pdf

out of which 49 took off from Gaya
and 11 from Indore.
OUT-OF-THE-BOX
APPROACH
During the second phase of the
operation, on the way back, while
all the other airlines were struggling
to check-in their passengers at the
airport, SpiceJet staff opened checkin
facility in the city about 36 hours
before departure. The passengers
went through and through to the
aircraft without any difficulty.
SpiceJet’s senior management, too,
put their full weight behind ensuring
successful operations.
The core SpiceJet team behind the Haj operations
SpiceJet set sail on a tumultuous
journey, all in the name of god and
the holy cause of serving our fellow
citizens. With 14 days to go, on July 21,
it was finally decided that SpiceJet will
take up the challenge.
IN THE MEANTIME
The core team was working on the
backend to secure permissions to
operate in KSA, contracts with service
providers and approval of slots to land.
When things did not work, on July 30,
with five days to go for the operations,
Mr. Gupta finally reached Jeddah to
seek approvals in person despite his
personal challenges. Merely two days
were left for the first take-off, and
SpiceJet still did not have approvals
to land in Saudi Arabia. After much
persuasion, Mr. Gupta was finally able
to secure all the approvals. All the
paperwork was done then and there,
approvals were sent and the aircraft
finally moved from Vietnam to Fujairah
and from there to Delhi.
After days of back-breaking
preparations, SpiceJet team flagged
off its first flight from Gaya on August
4, carrying 135 passengers aboard
Airbus 320 on the scheduled time of
11.30 am. Pre-check-in facilities were
made available to the pilgrims (most
of the passengers were senior citizens,
so catering to their needs became
first priority). Inaugurated by Mr.
Abdul Ghafoor, Honourable Minister of
Minority Affairs, Bihar, the first flight
spread its wings to reach Mecca. Some
of the personalities present to honour
the occasion were Mr. Shri Kumar
Ravi, District Magistrate – Gaya; Mr.
Dilip Kumar, Airport Director – Gaya
Airport; Mr. Sumant Rautela, General
Manager, Ground Services, SpiceJet; Mr.
Ajay Jasra, Head of Corporate Affairs,
Spicejet, and other esteemed members
of the Haj Committee of India. A total
of 60 departures (return flights) took
place – 30 to Jeddah and 30 to Medina,
OPERATIONAL
CHALLENGES
Needless to say, team SpiceJet
delivered high on-time performance,
ensuring customer satisfaction.
To operate in a culturally sensitive
country and for a religiously
sentimental occasion is not an easy
task. However, the efficient and
motivated team members proved
otherwise. All the passengers were
given meals at the airport and onboard,
on departure and arrival. The elderly
were treated carefully as if they were
children, and the staff members
assisted the passengers like they would
assist their own family members. The
passengers’ feedback and officials’
appreciation say it all. Officials at
Saudi Arabian airports and members
of the Haj committee personally
congratulated Mr. Gupta and his team.
The SpiceJet team ensured that the
operation was executed with precision.
In the future as well, SpiceJet plans
to carry out more such operations.
SpiceJet is proud to say that the Haj
operations were a huge success, and
the hard work finally bore the sweet
fruit of victory.
DECEMBER 2016 ||||| 147