Go First loses domestic airport slots, international flying rights

Go First went insolvent on May 2, 2023 and ceased operations the next day

Budget airline Go First is staring at more trouble as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is reportedly looking to take away domestic airport slots and international flying rights of the carrier.

A senior government official said, "If an airline does not utilise its airport slots for a year, it loses its historic precedence to domestic airport slots. It has been a year since the collapse of Go First. The domestic airport slots have already been allocated to other airlines and its international flying rights will soon be redistributed."

Another official told mid-day that the government had temporarily reallocated the flying rights of Go First in the Winter Schedule for 2023 and Summer Schedule for 2024, and these reallocations are likely to be made permanent by the end of the month. The reallocation of slots was done to cater to the rising domestic and international traffic demand.

According to the official, losing its domestic slots and flying rights to international destinations such as Oman, Dubai, Thailand, Singapore and Abu Dhabi is expected to further impact the valuation of the airline.

"Go First's flying rights and domestic slots were protected after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) imposed a moratorium on its assets after the airline declared bankruptcy in May 2023. In April this year, the Delhi High Court asked the DGCA to process the deregistration applications for the aircraft leased by the airline. Following this, on May 1, the DGCA approved the deregistration of Go First's aircraft," said an industry source aware of the matter.

"Go First had filed for insolvency on May 2, 2023, and ceased its operations the next day. It blamed its financial woes on the ‘faulty' engines of Pratt & Whitney that led to the grounding of half of its fleet. The airline has liabilities worth thousands of crores, to all its creditors combined," the source added.

May 3
Day Go First ceased operations in 2023