The beleaguered Wadia Group-owned airline Go First has yet to resume commercial flights since the stoppage of operations on May 3. All its flights scheduled till June 14 have been cancelled, which is likely to be further extended.
Before the cessation of commercial operations, Go First operated flights across 34 destinations – 27 domestic and seven international destinations. At present, all of Go First’s fleet of 54 aircraft are grounded at various airports in India.
As per the airline’s revival plans submitted to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), it will look to restart operations with 26 aircraft. Another challenge is holding on to its aircraft, as aircraft lessors have already approached the DGCA to deregister nearly all of its fleet. It owes approximately INR 2,700 crore to its lessors.
Go First, which has filed for voluntary insolvency with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), has total dues worth INR 11,463 crore. These dues include those of creditors such as Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, and Deutsche Bank, who ow approximately INR 6,521 crore.
It is estimated that at least half of the airline's fleet of Airbus A320neos are grounded due to problems with their Pratt & Whitney PW1127GA-JM Geared Turbofan (GTF) engines. Go First also operates older Airbus A320ceo jetliners powered by CFM International CFM56-5B4 engines.
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