Go First employs over 5,000 people.
Budget airline Go First will stop flights on Wednesday and Thursday due to a severe funds shortage, sources said. Only half of the airline's fleet is operational due to a shortage of spare engines.Here's your 10-point cheatsheet to this big story:
Go Airlines (India) said it has been forced to apply to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for resolution and protection due to the "ever-increasing failure" of the Pratt & Whitney engines that power its fleet.
Pratt & Whitney is the exclusive engine supplier for Go First's Airbus A320neo aircraft fleet.
"Go First has had to take this step due to the ever-increasing number of failing engines supplied by Pratt & Whitney's International Aero Engines, LLC, which has resulted in Go First having to ground 25 aircraft (equivalent to approximately 50% of its Airbus A320neo aircraft fleet) as of 1 May 2023," the airline said in a statement.
"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.
The percentage of grounded aircraft due to Pratt & Whitney's faulty engines has grown from 7 per cent in December 2019 to 31 per cent in December 2020 to 50 per cent in December 2022, the airline said.
If Pratt & Whitney were to comply with the earlier orders of at least 10 serviceable spare leased engines by 27 April 2023 and a further 10 spare leased engines per month until December 2023, the airline would be able to return to full operations by August/September 2023, it said.
If Pratt & Whitney fails in providing spare leased engines, and with further engine failures expected in the next three-four months, the operations of Go First will be made unviable, it said.
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).
Go First 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.
