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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started processing deregistration of aircraft leased to Wadia-owned Go First following the Delhi High Court order.
According to sources, the aviation watchdog has already processed the deregistration request of 43 aircraft, and is in the middle of processing the requests for the pending 11 aircraft. Banking sources said this paves the way for the airline’s downfall as lenders weigh liquidation.
According to documents reviewed by businessline, Bluesky 19 Leasing Ltd and Star Rising Aviation, both Dublin-based lessors, have requested to deregister and reclaim 11 aircraft leased to Go First. They made these requests using the Irrevocable Deregistration and Export Request Authorization (IDERA) provisions, as seen in filings on the DGCA website.
According to IDERA norms, in cases of lease rental defaults, regulators are obligated to deregister the aircraft and authorise lessors to repossess them within five working days of filing a request. This scenario implies that unless Go First secures legal relief, it faces the risk of losing over a third of its fleet within a week.
IDERA empowers lessors to deregister their aircraft from the registry of the lessee’s country, repossess them, and transport them out, particularly in cases of lease payment defaults.
Aircraft leased
Both Blue Sky and Star Rising had leased AIRBUS A320-271N to Go First. Star Rising leased six aircraft with the registration numbers VT-WJN, VT-WJP, VT-WJR, VT-WJQ, VT-WJR, VT-WJQ. On the other hand, Blue Sky has leased five aircraft VT-WJJ, VT-WJM, VT-WJT, VT-WJS and VT-WJL.
Both Bluesky 19 Leasing Ltd and Star Rising Aviation filed IDERA requests on May 9 and May 11, 2023, respectively. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted Go First’s plea for voluntary insolvency on May 10, 2023. Go First’s Resolution Professional argued against deregistering the aircraft, claiming they were essential for the airline’s revival, stating that the moratorium stalled the process of deregistration for all 54 aircraft.
Multiple lessors including Pembroke Aviation, Accipiter Investments Aircraft 2, EOS Aviation, and SMBC Aviation then approached the Delhi High Court. These lessors petitioned the court seeking the return of planes leased to the financially-troubled airline, contesting the DGCA’s delay in deregistering the aircraft.
After prolonged litigation, last week, the Delhi High Court ordered the DGCA to process deregistration requests within five days. .
businessline had reported that the lenders were mulling liquidation of the airline. Sources said the recent order would now hasten the process further .
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