Holi Cow!

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet, citing three key safety issues after its cabin crew were caught on video dancing in the aisles of flights. They were the pilot leaving the cockpit for nonessential purpose, the performance affecting the preparedness of crew, and the most bizarre of them — “frequent movement of the dancing crew” disturbing the aircraft’s centre of gravity.
SpiceJet also said what it did was nothing new in the airline industry. “The dance was professionally choreographed and a Holi delight for passengers, much as is done by several airlines around the world to celebrate special occasions,” its official statement said. “The cockpit was manned at all times as per DGCA regulations that govern situations when one pilot is outside, for instance, to use the toilet,” it added. Nevertheless, SpiceJet said it was working in cooperation with the DGCA. The airline suspended two of its pilots, who will stay away from work until the DGCA completes its investigation.
As per the guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), when a pilot leaves the cockpit during noncritical phases, cabin crew must ensure that the entry to the flight deck is blocked off from passenger access. According to one of the videos gone viral on YouTube, a SpiceJet pilot can be seen standing in front of the cockpit door, filming the performance.
As per DGCA's initial investigation, SpiceJet crew carried out Holi performances on flights between Delhi and Goa as well as on the Jaipur-Mumbai-Delhi, Mumbai-Bangalore-Kolkata and Bangalore-Pune-Ahmedabad routes.

SpiceJet’s performance and the DGCA action subsequently have also generated a lot of interest on micro-blogging website Twitter. SpiceJet was one of the trending topics Thursday morning, but most tweeters came out in support of the airline with a few also questioning whether SpiceJet followed safety standards.