Go First Cancels May 3, 4 Flights, Files For Bankruptcy In a detailed statement Go First said it 'had to take this step due to the ever-increasing number of failing engines' provided by manufacturer Pratt & Whitney.
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Domestic airlines Go First has cancelled all flights for May 3 and 4 and has filed for voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal in Delhi, news agency PTI was told by CEO Kaushik Khona.
In a detailed statement Go First said it 'had to take this step due to the ever-increasing number of failing engines' provided by manufacturer Pratt & Whitney. Due to these failures, 25 aircrafts had to be grounded on May 1.
According to the statement, the airline said it had been 'forced' to apply for insolvency since Pratt & Whitney had 'refused to comply with an award issued by an emergency arbitrator', according to which the engine operators had to supply 10 engines by April 27 and 10 more every month till December 2023. They also said that Pratt & Whitney had 'failed to provide any further serviceable spare leased engines.'
The statement said that the engine supply problem had cost INR 10,800 crore in lost revenues and other expenses and 'in order to recover these (and other) losses' they had asked for compensation amounting to approximately INR 8,000 crores in the Singapore arbitration.
Go First sued Pratt & Whitney in a US federal court regarding not receiving the engines and wanted enforcement of the Singapore arbitral award in its favour.
In February, a P&W official had ANI that 'global supply chain challenges' are 'limiting the availability of structural castings and other parts (needed to manufacture the jet engines)'.