NCLT orders liquidation of Go First

Go First becomes the second airline in three months to face liquidation. In November 2024, the Supreme Court of India ordered the liquidation of Jet Airways (India) Limited.
Go First
Go First
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NEW DELHI: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday ordered the liquidation of budget carrier Go First, possibly marking the end of the airline and its 20-month insolvency proceedings.

The Committee of Creditors (CoC) in September 2024 had filed an application to liquidate the airline.

NCLT bench comprising Judicial Member Mahendra Khandelwal and Technical Member Dr Sanjeev Ranjan allowed an application for liquidation by the CoC.

Go First becomes the second airline in three months to face liquidation. In November 2024, the Supreme Court of India ordered the liquidation of Jet Airways (India) Limited.

Following an order by the Delhi High Court last year, Go First was left with no viable asset to remain a going concern and bidders who were showing interest in reviving the airline decided to take back their bid. The Delhi High Court had ordered the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to deregister all Go First’s leased planes following a plea by lessors seeking to repossess their assets.

Go First owes Rs 6,500 crore to its creditors with the Central Bank of India and Bank of Baroda having the highest exposure. It also owes Rs 2,000 crore to aircraft lessors, about Rs 1,000 crore to its vendors, Rs 600 crore to travel agents, and Rs 500 crore to customers with pending refunds. Go First borrowed Rs 1,292 crore under government’s emergency credit scheme introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its remaining assets include a 94-acre land parcel in Thane, valued at Rs 3,000 crore, an Airbus training facility in Mumbai and its headquarters. The CoC had appointed Dinkar Venkatasubramanian as liquidator. Go First, promoted by the Wadia family, stopped flying on May 3, 2024, a day after it filed for bankruptcy.

A financial crisis due to non-supply of engines by Pratt & Whitney (P&W) that led to the grounding of about half of its fleet forced them to take this extreme step, the airline had said. Busy Bee Airways, majority-owned by EaseMyTrip’s founder Nishant Pitti, along with SpiceJet Chief Ajay Singh, had put in a bid for Go First last year. However, the bid was withdrawn following the Delhi High Court order.

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