Go First, the Wadia Group-owned airline, which filed for voluntary insolvency on 2nd May, Tuesday and cancelled all the flight scheduled from 3rd May to 5th May, has now announced that it will cancel all of its flights scheduled through 9th May 2023 for operational reasons.

The very sudden announcement has left passengers disappointed and disrupted their travel plans. The airline has apologized for the inconvenience caused by the sudden action and has assured customers that a full refund will be issued shortly.

GO FIRST STATEMENT

“We regret to inform that due to operational reasons, Go First flights scheduled till 9th May 2023 have been cancelled. We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the flight cancellation. A full refund will be issued to the original mode of payment shortly. We acknowledge the flight cancellation might have disrupted your travel plans and we are committed to providing all the assistance we can. We thank you for your patients.”

Reasons claimed by Go First:

• Go First has blamed American aerospace manufacturer Pratt and Whitney for causing the Airline’s bankruptcy.
• Go First alleged that it has been facing a financial crunch because of the non-supply of engines by Pratt and Whitney. It also said that the non-supply has resulted in the grounding of 28 planes.
• Furthermore, Go First also alleged that the engines supplied by Pratt and Whitney have been increasingly failing leading to the grounding of nearly 50% of its Airbus A320 neo fleet (Pratt and Whitney is the exclusive engine supplier to the aircraft).
• As a result, Go First claimed that it was forced to incur 100% of its operational costs, setting the airline by Rs 10800 crores in lost revenues and additional expenses.

Full Refund Promised

According to the airline’s statement, full refund will be issued to passengers via the original payment mode shortly. The airline also acknowledged that the cancellations may have disrupted passenger’s plans and pledged to provide all assistance possible.

Issued Show Cause Notice

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a show-cause notice to the airline for the sudden suspension of flights. The aviation regulator has accused the airline of failing to adhere to the approved schedule and causing passenger inconvenience, leading to non-compliance. The regulator has also asked the airline to explain why action should not be taken against it for violation.