Crisis hit Go First extends flight cancellation till June 25 due to 'operational reasons'

Crisis-hit airline Go First on Wednesday announced that its scheduled flight operations will remain cancelled till June 25 due to operational reasons. Earlier, the airline said that operations would remain cancelled till June 22.Aircraft of the cash-strapped carrier have been grounded since May 3. Early this May, Go First filed for bankruptcy at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and suspended its flight operations due to rising losses, primarily due to delays in the delivery of Pratt and Whitney's engines leading to the grounding of a portion of its fleet. The airline expects immediate resolution and revival of operations.

"We regret to inform you that due to operational reasons, Go First flights scheduled till 25th June 2023 have been cancelled. We apologise for the inconvenience caused by the flight cancellations," the airline said in a tweet."We acknowledge the flight cancellations might have disrupted your travel plans and we are committed to providing all the assistance we can" it said. "As you are aware, the company has filed an application for immediate resolution and revival of operations. We will be able to resume bookings shortly. We thank you for your patience," the airline said. There were reports that the grounding of the Go First flights had put pressure on airfares, particularly on select routes where the now-grounded airline had its footprint.Go First has been absent from the skies for over a month. This has led to airfares skyrocketing on many routes where the airline used to operate. Customers are paying exorbitant prices at the moment, and Go First's return would be a much-needed relief. The airline has a 6.4 per cent share of the Indian aviation market, and it plans to initially operate 22 aircraft. It will reserve four aircraft for future contingencies. While Go First has lost nearly 180 pilots due to the recent turbulence, it still has over 500 pilots, which is sufficient for operating 30 planes.