Delhi High Court Allows Go First Lessors To Inspect And Maintain Aircraft In Dispute With Airline

The Delhi High Court has granted permission to the lessors of Go First to access the aircraft leased to the airline for inspection and maintenance purposes. The decision comes in the wake of a dispute between the lessors and the airline, which had led to the grounding of several aircraft due to non-payment of lease rentals, ANI Reported.

On applications submitted by eight lessor firms, the Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju bench issued an interim ruling on Wednesday. The court ordered the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to permit lessors and their representatives access to the Airport where these aircraft are parked while issuing directions on the group of applications.

The bench granted permission to lessor companies to perform twice-monthly maintenance on their aircraft. The court made it plain that the interim injunction is permitted pending the ultimate resolution of their pleas seeking to de-register their aircraft from the airline. The court also ruled that Go First or the Resolution Professional could not utilise the aircraft without the required permission from the lessors.

The Delhi High Court gave the directive after hearing a number of petitions filed by several aircraft lessors asking for the DGCA to be instructed to deregister the aircraft leased to Go First Airlines.

After hearing from all parties on June 1, including the DGCA, aircraft lessors, and the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the bench of Justice Tara Vista Ganju postponed its decision.

The lessor companies include Accipiter Investments Aircraft 2 Limited, Pembroke Aircraft Leasing 11 Limited, EOS Aviation 12 (Ireland) Ltd, DAE SY 22 13 Ireland Designated Activity Company, SMBC Aviation Capital Ltd, SFV Aircraft Holdings Ire 9 DEC Limited, ACG Aircraft Leasing Ireland Limited, and GY Aviation Lease 1722 Co Limited, who had approached Delhi High Court and requested deregistration of their aircraft that are with Go First.

Go First Airlines announced that it would suspend operations on Tuesday, July 4 and remain closed until July 10, 2023.

Go First Airlines stopped its operations for the thirteenth time on Tuesday, alleging operational difficulties, during a three-day audit being conducted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of the cash-strapped airline.

"Audit is focused on safety-related aspects as well as on physical verification of the arrangements made for the resumption of flight operations," the official said.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) accepted Go First Airlines' request for insolvency proceedings in its ruling on May 10th.

On May 4, the low-cost carrier petitioned the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for bankruptcy protection. In order to avoid having its 26 aircraft seized by lessors, it has also requested an interim moratorium.

The airline also asked for guidance on how to choose an IRP (insolvency resolution process).

According to the DGCA's declaration in the Delhi High Court, none of the petitions filed by the lessors have been rejected, and as a result, none are currently pending due to the moratorium.