Go First planes to be repossessed; loses airport slots

All 54 Go First planes will be repossessed by lessors and the company will lose all their domestic and international airport slots following action taken by the DCGA. Reports from The Times of India and MoneyControl say that the Indian aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), is looking to permanently take away the domestic airport slots and international flying rights of the airline. The airline was also subject to deregistration requests for most of its 54 planes on April 26, 2024 which by May 1, the DGCA had approved. Industry experts told The Times of India that ""Lessors are likely to take a longer time to fly the Go First's deregistered 54 planes out of the country as the majority of the planes require engines and spare parts."" An executive involved in the bankruptcy proceedings of the airline told local media that losing Go First's historic precedence to domestic slots, and flying rights to international destinations like Oman, Dubai, Thailand, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore is ""expected to impact the valuation of the carrier even further"". ""It's been a year since the collapse of Go First. Per the Slot Allocation Guidelines, 2013, since the airline has not utilised any of its airport slots in the last year, it loses its historic precedence to domestic airport slots,"" a senior government official aware of the situation told MoneyControl. Executives working with the airline who are aware of the ongoing discussions between Go First Resolution Professional Shailendra Ajmera and the Committee of Creditors (CoC), told MoneyControl that the CoC ""values the assets of Go First at around Rs 3,000 crore ($360,000)."" Go First, was founded in 2005 and formerly backed by the Wadia Group. The company filed for insolvency on May 2, 2023, and ceased flights the following day. In its bankruptcy filing, GoFirst had blamed its financial woes on the `faulty' engines of the US-based Pratt & Whitney, claiming it was forced to ground 28 of its 56 planes. Go First’s key remaining asset is a 94-acre land parcel in Thane that the Wadia Group had given as collateral to the banks. Aside from the land, the airline’s assets also include an Airbus training facility in Mumbai, and its headquarters. The airline’s total liabilities to all its creditors amount to about Rs 11,463 crore ($1.3 million), including dues to banks, financial institutions, vendors, and the aircraft lessors.