Go Airlines, the low-cost carrier owned by billionaire Nusli Wadia, filed for bankruptcy, accusing US engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney for forcing half of its fleet to be grounded. The 2005-launched airline, which was renamed Go First in May, became the first Wadia Group company to file for bankruptcy in its 287-year existence and the third significant airline to go under since 2012, after Kingfisher and Jet.
When the National Company Law Tribunal in Delhi grants the bankruptcy plea, Wadia, his son Ness Wadia, airline chairman Varun Berry, other board members, and the management would hand over authority to a resolution specialist chosen by the forum.
Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said “it’s incumbent upon the airline to make alternative travel arrangements for passengers so that inconvenience is minimal.” On its website, Go First said: “...due to operational reasons, Go First flights scheduled for May have been cancelled…. A full refund will be issued to the original mode of payment shortly… committed to providing all the assistance we can.”
The airline, which has 61 aircraft in its fleet, said it moved the NCLT under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) “due to the ever-increasing number of failing engines supplied by PW which has resulted in Go First having to ground 25 aircraft (nearly 50% of its Airbus A320neo aircraft fleet) as of May 1, 2023.”