NCLT allows Go First to use leased aircraft

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has granted relief to bankrupt Go First, allowing the grounded airline to utilize leased aircraft as it prepares to resume operations.

- Anu Sharma & Priyanka Manohar Gawande

In an order issued on Wednesday, NCLT said that the civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has not deregistered the aircraft, which means that they are available to the airline to resume operations.

"Therefore, as long as the aircraft/engines are registered, they can be used for operating or flying to keep the corporate debtor (Go First) as a going concern, however, within the safeguards/safety norms prescribed by the regulators," stated the order on the plea by lessors against the airline company.

The lessors had approached NCLT to deregister the aircraft leased to the airline.

This order clears the way for the resumption of flights by Go First, which received DGCA’s approval last week. Last week, the aviation regulator granted conditional approval for Go First to resume flights with 15 aircraft, or 114 daily flights. The low-fare airline may resume scheduled flight operations on the availability of interim funding and the approval of flight schedule by the DGCA, the regulator said in a statement.

NCLT has also stated that there is no need for the lessors to inspect the aircraft as the court, in its 15 June order, has already directed resolution professional Shailendra Ajmera to maintain the aircraft.