Aviation: After Deregistration Of Go First's Fleet, The Airline's Liquidation Ordered By National Company Law Tribunal

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday (20 January) ordered the liquidation of budget airline Go First Airways. The decision followed an application filed by the airline’s Committee of Creditors (CoC), marking the end of a protracted insolvency process.

A bench comprising Judicial Member Mahendra Khandelwal and Technical Member Dr Sanjeev Ranjan delivered the order.

Go First initially filed a voluntary plea for insolvency under Section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) on 2 May 2023. The NCLT admitted the application on 10 May 2023, appointing a Resolution Professional (RP) to manage the airline’s operations.

Subsequent disputes arose as the airline's lessors challenged the retention of their assets under the moratorium imposed during the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).

The issue escalated to the Delhi High Court, where the lessors sought deregistration of their aircraft by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Initially, the DGCA resisted due to the moratorium. However, a clarification from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 4 October 2023 exempted aircraft-related transactions from the IBC moratorium.

Following this, the Delhi High Court, on 26 April 2024, directed the DGCA to deregister Go First’s fleet. The process was completed by May 2024, with maintenance and export of the deregistered aircraft assigned to the lessors under Rule 32A of the Aircraft Rules.

With no aircraft and no prospects for revival, the CoC decided in September 2024 to liquidate the company. While initially raising concerns over appointing the existing RP as liquidator, the CoC later nominated Dinkar Venkatasubramanian for the role.