Go First: DGCA To Conduct Special Audit Of Airline Facilities In Delhi, Mumbai On July 4-6

Cash-strapped Go First stopped flying on May 3 and is undergoing a voluntary insolvency resolution process

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will conduct a special audit of grounded airline Go First's facilities in Delhi and Mumbai from July 4 to 6 before approving the revival plan for the resumption of flights, a senior official told PTI. Cash-strapped Go First stopped flying on May 3 and is undergoing a voluntary insolvency resolution process.

According to the PTI report, the senior official at the DGCA on Friday said that after a preliminary review of the resumption plan submitted by the Resolution Professional (RP) for Go First on June 28, the regulator has planned to conduct a special audit. The audit of the facilities of the airline in Delhi and Mumbai will be conducted from July 4 to 6.

"The special audit to be conducted from July 4 to 6 shall be focused on the safety-related aspects and continued compliance of the requirements to hold an Air Operator Certificate (AOC), as well as on physical verification of the arrangements made for the resumption of flight operations," the official said. 

Go Air, which was owned by the Wadia family, is in voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings.

Citing the sources privy to the development, PTI said the airline’s EY-backed Resolution Professional Shailendra Ajmera and Interim CEO Kaushik Khona made a detailed presentation to the DGCA officials on the revival plan. The aviation watchdog will also conduct an audit to assess the airline's operational preparedness once it completes the scrutiny of the documents.

Another source said the airline, prior to the grounding, was operating to and from 29 domestic destinations. Under the revival plan, the number of destinations is to be reduced to 23. The airline, when it restarts operations, will not be operating flights from Jaipur, Lucknow, Kannur, Patna, Varanasi, and Ranchi for the time being, the source added.

According to the source, lenders have committed an interim funding of around Rs 450 crore, considering a day’s operations are expected to cost around Rs 10 crore. The airline has adequate manpower, including around 300 pilots. The revival process gathered pace after the formation of the airline's Committee of Creditors (CoC), comprising Bank of Baroda, Central Bank of India, IDBI Bank and Deutsche Bank, on June 10, the source added.