Shillong, July 25: The Indian government announced on Monday that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has received applications from lessors to de-register 54 aircraft leased to Go First. However, the processing of these applications by the DGCA is contingent upon the outcome of cases before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the Delhi High Court.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, General (Retd.) V.K. Singh, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, revealed that Go First has submitted its resumption plan to the DGCA, aiming to operate 150 flights daily with 26 aircraft.
As per IANS, the DGCA has been actively monitoring the situation since Go First’s announcement on May 2 to cancel its flights and file for insolvency under Section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
Following the suspension of operations by Go First, other airlines have been advised to self-regulate airfares and maintain reasonable price levels. They have also been encouraged to introduce new flights on sectors that previously had a significant number of Go First flights.
In response to a query raised by BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi, the minister stated that a total of 358 leased aircraft have been removed from the civil aircraft registry from January 2018 till date.
The specific query from Sushil Modi focused on whether aircraft lessors of Go First have filed applications with the DGCA seeking de-registration and repossession of 20 planes leased to Wadia Group. The MP also inquired about the total number of leased planes de-registered and repossessed by lessors in the last five years, year-wise and company-wise. Additionally, the question addressed whether Go First has submitted any plan to resume operations with a specific number of aircraft and daily flights, and what steps the government has taken to tackle the situation arising from the closure of Go First airlines.