Go First Cancels Flights For 3 Days Amid Financial Crunch, DGCA Issues Notice | What We Know So Far

The cash-strapped airline also sought voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings and decided to cancel flights for three days starting from May 3.

Mumbai: Amid financial crunch, low-cost airline Go First on Tuesday announced that all its flights will remain cancelled from May 3 to 5. The decision was communicated to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) by the airlines and a detailed report will be submitted soon to the civil aviation regulator.

The cash-strapped airline also sought voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings and decided to cancel flights for three days starting from May 3. The decision was taken as the budget airline is unable to meet financial obligations amid the grounding of half of its fleet due to the non-availability of Pratt & Whitney engines.

Due to operational reasons, GoFirst flights for 3rd, 4th and 5th May 2023 have been cancelled. We sincerely apologise to our loyal customers. We assure that we’ll be back with more information soon: Go First pic.twitter.com/PMxr8scJIO

— ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2023

Go First To Make Full Refund To Passengers

Go First, which has been flying for more than 17 years, said it will make a full refund to the customers. The airline operates around 180-185 flights, carrying around 30,000 passengers on a daily basis.

Giving details, airline CEO Kaushik Khona said the airline has grounded 28 planes, more than half of its fleet, due to the non-supply of engines by Pratt & Whitney (P&W), and that has resulted in a fund crunch.

“It is an unfortunate decision (filing for voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings), but it had to be done to protect the interests of the company,” he told PTI.

Go First is the second major scheduled airline after Jet Airways to seek resolution under insolvency proceedings.

DGCA Issues Notice

Amid travel disruptions due to the sudden cancellation of Go First flights, aviation regulator DGCA has issued a show cause notice to the embattled carrier. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the airline has cancelled the scheduled flights for May 3 and 4 “without any prior intimation”.

While the carrier announced that it will cancel the flights for May 3 and 4, it was extended by another day to May 5, as per a notice on the carrier’s website.

Scindia Calls It ‘Unfortunate’

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said it was unfortunate that the operational bottleneck related to engine supplies has dealt a blow to the airline’s financial position.

“It is prudent to wait for the judicial process to run its course,” he said in a statement.

The civil aviation ministry is keeping a close watch on the developments at crisis-hit Go First and the proceedings that are expected at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) this week, a senior official said.

Go Airlines (India) Ltd, which operates under the brand Go First, has applied to the NCLT for resolution and protection under Section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code “due to the ever-increasing failure of the Pratt & Whitney engines that power its fleet”, the statement said.

The airline, which has been grappling with engine issues since January 2020, said it has been forced to move the NCLT as P&W refused to comply with an order issued by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), an emergency arbitrator.