Liquidation Order
NCLAT upholds NCLT order to liquidate Go First, rejects Busy Bee's plea
This story was originally published at 11:24 IST on 4 April 2025
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--NCLAT upholds NCLT order to liquidate Go First, rejects Busy Bee's plea
NEW DELHI – The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on Friday upheld an order of the Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal to liquidate Go First airline, and rejected petitions by Busy Bee Airways Pvt. Ltd., a bidder for the grounded airline, and other parties. However, the appellate tribunal allowed Busy Bee and other eligible applicants to submit a scheme for compromise under Regulation 2B of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Liquidation Process) Regulations, 2016.
Regulation 2B states that where a compromise or arrangement is proposed under section 230 of the Companies Act, 2013, it shall be completed within 90 days of the order of liquidation. The Delhi tribunal had ordered for liquidation of the airline on Jan. 20.
On Jan. 31, Busy Bee Airways had said it was still interested in acquiring the airline as a going concern and intended to engage with lenders to negotiate a deal. Busy Bee Airways said that Go First retains valuable assets, such as its Directorate General of Civil Aviation licence. Even the Bhartiya Kamgar Sena, a trade union in Mumbai, had expressed concern that 5,000 workers would be rendered jobless if the airline is liquidated. The union requested the tribunal to instruct lenders to maintain Go First as a going concern until resolution of the airline's ongoing arbitration with Pratt & Whitney.
Go First filed for voluntary insolvency due to a financial crisis triggered by Pratt & Whitney's failure to supply engines, which led to the grounding of 28 of its 56 aircraft. The airline owes over INR 65 billion to its lenders, including INR 19.34 billion to Central Bank of India, INR 17.44 billion to Bank of Baroda, and INR 750 million to IDBI Bank. The National Company Law Tribunal had admitted the insolvency petition on May. 10, 2023.
Busy Bee Airways and SpiceJet Ltd.'s Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh had jointly submitted a bid to revive Go First. However, the airline's recovery plan suffered a setback due to the Delhi High Court's order regarding its leased aircraft. On Apr. 26, 2024, the court directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to deregister 54 aircraft leased by Go First, prompting Busy Bee Airways to withdraw its bid.
On Sept. 3, the tribunal issued a notice to Go First's suspended management following a request from the resolution professional to liquidate the airline. On Jan. 20, the Delhi tribunal ordered the liquidation of Go First. End
Reported by Surya Tripathi
Edited by Avishek Dutta
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