Go First: A two-member bench appointed
Abhliash Lal as interim resolution professional (IRP) to run the debt-ridden
company.
In a major relief for the struggling
budget airline Go First, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) today
admitted its voluntary plea to initiate an insolvency resolution process, which
is aimed at restructuring debt and liabilities.
Here's your 10-point
cheatsheet to this big story:
1. Calling the order a
"perfect example" in the context of reviving a viable business before
it becomes unviable, Go First CEO Kaushik Khona told news agency PTI that it
was timely.
2. A two-member bench
appointed Abhliash Lal as interim resolution professional (IRP) to run the
debt-ridden company.
3. The NCLT ordered that
the company be kept functioning and no employees be laid off.
4. It has also put the
company under the protection of a moratorium and directed the suspended board
of directors to assist the IRP in running the company during insolvency
proceedings.
5. The low-cost carrier,
which until recently was India's fourth-largest airline by passengers flown,
filed for bankruptcy protection, blaming "faulty" Pratt & Whitney
engines for the grounding of about half its 54 Airbus A320neos.
6. On May 4, the NCLT
reserved its order after hearing the Wadia group-owned carrier and its aircraft
lessors who have opposed the petition seeking interim protection, contending
that it would have "harmful and serious consequences".
7. Aviation regulator
DGCA had on Monday issued a show cause notice to the troubled budget carrier
"for their failure to continue the operation of the service in a safe,
efficient and reliable manner", and directed it to immediately stop
bookings and sale of tickets directly or indirectly till further orders.
8. The airline operator
has been asked to submit their reply within 15 days of the receipt of this
notice, based on which a decision on the continuation of their Air Operators
Certificate (AOC) will be taken.
9. Earlier, the airline
had suspended the sale of tickets till May 15 and has cancelled flights till
May 12.
10.
The first major airline collapse since 2019 underlines the
fierce competition in a sector dominated by IndiGo and the recent merger of Air
India and Vistara under the Tata conglomerate.