DGCA Directs Go First To Suspend Ticket Sales With Immediate Effect

New Delhi: The cash-strapped airline Go First has been ordered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to immediately suspend ticket sales.

Following the filing of an insolvency petition by Go First last week, the sale of airline tickets had already been halted until May 15.

After the airline prolonged the suspension of its flights until May 12, the DGCA issued its direction and urged the carrier to reimburse customers for cancelled flights.

The Wadia group-owned airline has also received a show cause notice from the DGCA for failing to continue operations in a “safe, efficient, and reliable” manner.

The directive is a serious setback for the airline, which has urged the NCLT to expeditiously approve its insolvency petition in order to safeguard it from losing assets including aircraft and slots and to obtain a moratorium on payments owing to financial creditors.

Last week, Go First filed for bankruptcy owing to a severe cash shortage and accused US aerospace company Pratt and Whitney of producing “faulty” engines that forced the company to stop more than half of its fleet. Its bankruptcy filings show it has liabilities amounting to over Rs 11,000 crore.