Go First will temporarily suspend flights on May 3 and 4 due to fund crunch
Go First airline will stop flights on Wednesday and Thursday due to a severe funds shortage. Only 50 per cent of the airline's fleet is operational as it is not getting spare engines from US firm Pratt & Whitney (P&W), the carrier said in a statement.
Go First said it had to stop flights "due to the ever-increasing number of failing engines supplied by P&W International Aero Engines, which has resulted in Go First having to ground 25 aircraft (equivalent to approximately 50 per cent of its Airbus A320neo aircraft fleet)."
The carrier, owned by the Wadia Group, has also filed for bankruptcy before the National Company Law Tribunal in Delhi.
"It is an unfortunate decision (filing for voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings) but it had to be done to protect the interests of the company," Go First chief executive Kaushik Khona told news agency PTI.
Go First in the statement said it has grounded 25 aircraft, or 50 per cent of the fleet, as on Monday. This has directly led to a funds crunch as not having enough aircraft flying dries up earnings very fast in the aviation sector.
The airline in the statement said a Singapore arbitrator ordered P&W to supply at least 10 serviceable spare leased engines by April 27, 2023 and 10 more engines - one each per month - by December this year. But P&W has not followed the order, the airline alleged.
"... That order (of the arbitrator) directed P&W to take all reasonable steps to release and dispatch (the engines) without delay to Go First..." the airline said. "If P&W were to comply with the orders in the emergency arbitrator's award, Go First would be able to return to full operations by August-September 2023," the airline said.
Go First said the American aviation firm told them there are no further spare leased engines available for P&W to comply with the emergency arbitrator's award.
Some people who have booked Go First told NDTV they have received auto-generated emails about flight cancellations due to "operational issues".
Go First said it has told the government about the situation and will send a report to the regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The airline employs over 5,000 people.
On its website, the airline said its fleet has 59 aircraft, of which 54 are A320neo and five are A320ceo.
