New Delhi: The resolution professional (RP) of Go First on Monday told the Delhi High Court that allowing lessors to inspect aircraft can cause disruptions in a plea challenging an interim order. A division bench of Delhi High Court has deferred hearing in the matter to Tuesday.
On 5 July, a single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court permitted the lessors of the airline to inspect and carry out maintenance work of Go First’s 30 aircraft within the next three days. A bench led by justice Tara Vitasta Ganju had authorised the lessors to conduct maintenance tasks on the engines and components of all aircraft twice a month until the disposal of the writ petitions.
The high court also prohibited Go First and its agents from removing any components or operational and manual documents from any of the 30 aircraft.
The counsel for Go First RP argued that the interim order disregarded a proposed resolution that had received 100% approval from the Committee of Creditors (CoC) and had been submitted to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
As per the counsel, the matter was being dealt with by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and questioned the civil court’s jurisdiction to rule on the writ petition.
Of the 56 aircraft in Go First’s fleet, 26 had been inspected by the DGCA and declared fit to fly, while the remaining were awaiting engine delivery from Pratt and Whitney. It was mentioned in the court that an emergency arbitration process was initiated in Singapore against Pratt and Whitney to obtain new engines.
The DGCA informed the court that as per current rules, lessors are not allowed to carry out maintenance work and only Go First has the authorization to do so.
On the other hand, lessors have argued that the airline was not permitted to operate their aircraft.
Lessors, including Pembroke Aircraft Leasing 11, SMBC Aviation Capital, Accipiter Investments Aircraft 2, Eos Aviation 12 (Ireland), DAE SY 13 Ireland, SFV Aircraft Holdings Ire 9 DAC Limited, ACG Aircraft Leasing Ireland Ltd, and GY Aviation Lease 1722 Co. Ltd had approached the high court to deregister the leased aircraft.
On 10 May, the principal bench of the NCLT in Delhi accepted Go First’s voluntary plea to initiate an insolvency resolution process. The tribunal appointed an IRP, suspended the board, and imposed a moratorium on the airline’s financial obligations.
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Updated: 10 Jul 2023, 05:33 PM IST