NEW DEHLI: Indian budget airline Go First, after filing for bankruptcy protection, has cancelled all of its flights for the next three days.
The airline claimed, “A full refund will be given to affected customers. After Jet Airways went bust in 2019, it was the first big airline in the country to file for bankruptcy.
Go First blamed Pratt & Whitney US engine maker for having to ground several of its planes, which resulted in severe cash flow hurdles, the BBC said.
Go First said, “The company was forced to take this step as Pratt & Whitney supplied the ever-increasing number of failing engines.” Go First reported that the issue led them to ground 25 planes, or over half of its fleet of Airbus A320neo aircraft, resulting in nearly 108 billion rupees (£1 billion; $1.3 billion) in lost expenses and revenue.
The airline further charged Pratt & Whitney with disobeying an emergency arbitrator’s directive to deliver “at least ten serviceable spare leased engines by April 27, 2023.” Pratt & Whitney responded by stating it was “complying with the March 2023 arbitration ruling” and could not speak further since “this is now a matter of litigation”.
India’s Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia claimed:” The Indian government has been assisting the airline in every possible manner.”
The collapse of Go First, which Indian conglomerate Wadia Group owns, underscores the fierce competition in the country’s airline sector.
In November, the country’s second and third largest carriers – Air India and Vistara – announced they planned to merge. In 2019, Jet Airways, one of India’s biggest airlines, was grounded after struggling with more than $1bn (£800m) of debt.
So far, it has been unable to restart operations due to a lengthy insolvency process.
