NEW DELHI: The newly-appointed interim resolution professional (IRP) for Go First, Abhilash Lal, on Thursday told employees of the airline that they would shortly be required to return to work and that their salaries would not be affected if they remained with the company.
Lal, however, didn’t provide employees with a date for when the airline has plans to resume operations. He acknowledged that they need additional funding to restart operations. Sources at the airline said they are aiming to commence flight services with a smaller fleet in two weeks' time.
Owing to uncertainty surrounding the continuity of the airline and concerns about their future after the Wadia family-promoted Go First submitted for voluntary insolvency last week, a larger section of Go First is said to have applied in Tata Group’s Air India. Lal, who represents the consultancy firm Alvarez & Marsal, conveyed this message to the workforce during a town hall in Mumbai on Thursday.
The Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Wednesday admitted Go First’s plea for voluntary insolvency and granted the airline protection under moratorium from recovery by lessors and lenders. Unhappy with the ruling, Aircraft lessor SMBC Aviation Capital moved the appellate tribunal NCLAT against the order passed by the NCLT.