Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
Go Airlines (India) Ltd was granted bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, bolstering the country’s fourth largest carrier’s chances of getting back on its feet, but lessors have started mounting legal challenges to repossess planes.
The low-cost carrier, recently rebranded as Go First, was plunged into financial crisis this year, sparked by what it called “faulty” Pratt & Whitney engines that grounded about half its 54 Airbus (AIR.PA) A320neos.
The U.S. engine maker, part of Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N), in a statement said Go First’s allegations were “without merit”.
In granting bankruptcy protection, the National Company Law Tribunal in New Delhi ordered a moratorium on Go First’s assets and leases and appointed Abhilash Lal of Alvarez & Marsal as the interim resolution professional to take over management with immediate effect.
The resolution professional “shall ensure that retrenchment of employees is not resorted to as a matter of course”, the tribunal’s 41-page order said. Go First has a staff of around 7,000.
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