Go First seeks DGCA approval for 22 aircraft relaunch

Go First has sought approval to restart flights with 22 planes for the next five months. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asked for a resumption plan last week after meeting the Go First management. The carrier outlined its business plan till November saying that it intends to restart with military charter flights, followed by commercial operations. ET has seen a copy of the plan. The carrier suspended flights on May 3. Abhilash Lal, the resolution professional from consulting firm Alvarez and Marsal, has nominated current CEO Kaushik Khona to run daily operations and act as the accountable manager. The airline, which filed for insolvency last month, told the regulator that it requires Rs 200 crore to resume flying and that it has access to funds of Rs 400 crore under the government’s emergency credit line guarantee scheme (ECLGS) as well as undrawn credit. The airline is also in discussions with lenders to arrange interim funding of Rs 200 crore. This will be used to pay salaries for April and May and make payments to vendors.