NEW DELHI: Cash-strapped Go First’s former CEO Kaushik Kona and its newly-appointed resolution professional (RP) Shailendra Ajmera, on Wednesday met with Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials to get a green nod for their revival plan as they aim to restart operations as soon as possible.
According to sources, Go First’s RP presented the bankers’ approved revival plan to the aviation regulator before submitting it formally in a day or two.
Following the submission, DGCA would conduct a very important safety audit to check whether Go First can carry out operations smoothly. The crisis-hit airline has intended to restart flights with 22 aircraft in its fleet and keep another four in reserve. Go First intends to start 157 flights on 78 routes.
This fresh development comes after the lenders of the airline such as Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and IDBI Bank gave an in-principle nod for Rs 450 crore interim financing to meet the day-to-day operational expenses.
Go First, owned by the Wadia Group, had declared insolvency on May 2 and stopped flying from May 3 owing to a severe cash crunch caused by the grounding of over half of its fleet. Its application was admitted by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on May 10. Prior to grounding on May 3, Go First was operating around 200 flights daily. The resumption plan was facing a threat from aircraft lessors, who are in knocking on various venues, including the courts, seeking the deregistration of aircraft leased by the bankrupt airline.