Looks like Go First will find it tough to hold back its employees, most of whom are considering quitting. Why? The airline has reportedly not been paying them their salaries, and therefore, the hapless employees — about 150 of them, including 30 pilots and 50 crew members — are planning to put in their papers.
According to Moneycontrol, the employees haven’t received salaries for the last three months, and are, therefore, looking out for jobs elsewhere. Go First has been struggling with finances for some time now, after having incurred huge losses in FY2022.
Meanwhile, lessors are unable to deregister and recover the aircraft they had leased to Go First, because of the moratorium that is in effect. As per the latter, no assets can be transferred from Go First post the insolvency resolution dealings. The lessors had approached the High Court and conveyed that it was illegitimate on DGCA’s part to refuse deregistration.
In May, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had permitted Go First’s plea for voluntary insolvency resolution that allowed the airline to initiate related dealings. The Tribunal had also appointed an Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) for suspension of the board of Go First.
The airline has, in the meantime, cancelled flights until 18 August 2023 citing operational issues. It is pertinent to mention here that the flights of the airline have been grounded for the past four months almost.
