- Saturday, March 01, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Days after India’s Go First airline suspended sale of tickets till May 15 following filing an insolvency plea last week, India’s civil aviation regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has asked the cash-strapped carrier to immediately stop selling tickets.
The DGCA’s directive comes after Go First extended the suspension of its flights till May 12 and after it had asked the airline for refunding to the passengers against flights that have been cancelled.
The regulator has also issued a show-cause notice to the Wadia Group-owned airline over its failure to continue operations in a “safe, efficient and reliable” way.
The DGCA said in view of the sudden cancellation of flights and initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, it has issued a show-cause notice to Go First under the relevant provisions of the Aircraft Rules 1937 for its failure to carry on with the service’s operation in a “safe, efficient and reliable manner”, India Today reported.
While the regulator has asked Go First to immediately stop the sale of tickets “directly or immediately” until further orders, it is now on the airline to respond to the former’s notice within a fortnight, based on which a call will be taken on the airline’s air operator’s certificate.
The development is a major blow to Go First since it asked the National Company Law Tribunal to urgently accept its insolvency petition to protect it from losing assets such as aircraft and slots.
