GoFirst Amid financial troubles Go First airline suspends flights as US firm Pratt & Whitney stops spare engines supply
Mumbai: Cash-strapped carrier Go First airline has decided to stop flights on Wednesday and Thursday. At present, 50 percent of the carrier’s fleet is working in the absence of a supply of spare engines from US firm Pratt & Whitney (P&W), the carrier said in a statement.
After the announcement, aviation regulator DGCA sent notice to the carrier for not informing it prior to cancelling all scheduled flights and sought an explanation within the next 24 hours, a report in the media said.
As per the Civil Aviation Rules, airlines operating in India have to inform the regulator they intend to cancel all scheduled flights before suspending operations.
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 (50 percent of its Airbus A320neo fleet)."
The Wadia Group-owned airline has initiated insolvency proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal in Delhi.
As of Monday, half of Go First's fleet has been grounded with 25 aircraft out of service. This has caused a shortage of funds, as reduced flights result in rapid depletion of earnings within the aviation industry.
According to the airline's statement, a Singapore arbitrator has issued an order requiring P&W to provide a minimum of 10 leased engines that are in working order by April 27, 2023, and 10 additional engines, one per month, by December of this year. The airline claimed that P&W has failed to comply with the order.
"... 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.
According to Go First, Pratt & Whitney has informed the airline that there are no additional spare leased engines available for the company to fulfill the emergency arbitrator's ruling.
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia confirmed that the airline has been facing critical supply chain issues with the engines, adding the government has been helping the airline in every possible way.
The promoters of Go First have invested a significant amount of money, totalling around Rs 6,500 crore, into the airline since its inception. Out of this amount, Rs 3,200 crore was added in the past three years, with Rs 2,400 crore being injected in the last two years alone, and Rs 290 crore in April 2023.
Go First stated that it has informed the government about the current state of affairs and will also provide a report to the regulatory body, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The airline has a workforce of more than 5,000 employees, and according to information available on its website, it operates a fleet of 59 planes, consisting of 54 A320neo and five A320ceo aircraft.
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