Go Airlines Admitted into Liquidation by Bankruptcy Court

The Delhi bankruptcy court has admitted Go Airlines (India) Ltd, which operates Go First airline, into liquidation after creditors failed to secure a viable revival plan. The company’s liabilities are reported to be approximately Rs 85.75 billion. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) division bench, comprising judicial member Mahendra Khandelwal and technical member Sanjeev Ranjan, approved the liquidation request filed by the lenders through the airline's resolution professional (RP). In its 15-page order, the tribunal stated, “The resolution plans received were neither compliant with the mandatory requirements of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) nor commercially acceptable to the Committee of Creditors (CoC). Given the unviability of resuming commercial operations, the CoC opted for liquidation of the corporate debtor.” The airline’s financial struggles began in May 2023 when its promoter, the Wadia Group, filed for voluntary bankruptcy, citing delays in engine deliveries from Pratt & Whitney. Go Airlines was subsequently placed under the corporate insolvency resolution process. By September 2024, the CoC applied for liquidation after failing to identify a viable recovery strategy. The tribunal appointed Dinkar T. Venkatasubramanian as the company’s liquidator, in line with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India’s circular issued on July 18, 2023. Go Airlines’ secured financial creditors include the Central Bank of India (Rs 19.34 billion), Bank of Baroda (Rs 17.44 billion), and IDBI Bank (Rs 7.74 billion). Unsecured financial creditors include Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation (Rs 908.8 million), Associated Biscuits International Ltd (Rs 4.13 billion), and Leila Lands Ltd (Rs 13.3 billion). Additionally, the airline owes approximately Rs 750 million to its employees. Under Section 10 of the IBC, companies can seek insolvency resolution through the tribunal. With the liquidation order, the company’s assets will be sold to repay creditors, said Ashish Pyasi, partner at Aendri Legal. (ET)

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