Go First Bankruptcy: SpiceJet to Fly 25 of Its Grounded Planes with Rs. 400 Crore Funding

After Go First goes bankrupt, SpiceJet to bring back 25 of its out-of-service fleet with ECLGC funding support of Rs. 400 crores and capitalize on peak travel season.

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth Ghosalkar

Last Updated: May 03, 2023

As Go First announces bankruptcy, another leading airline – SpiceJet has strategized to bring back 25 of its planes, which were earlier out-of-service. The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) will finance the expense of reviving the planes. The support is provided by the government to enhance the flow of cash. SpiceJet has till now secured about Rs. 400 crores to help with the return of the defunct planes, which will also boost the airline’s revenue.

The Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet, Ajay Singh said that they are working meticulously to return their grounded fleet to service and back in the air through ECLGS funding. It will assist the airline to capitalize and get the best out of the peak season for travel. The CEO, Kaushik Khona said that Go First has decided to halt operations for now on the 3^rd and 4^th of May 2023 because it has filed for voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings before NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal).

While the low-cost airline benefited people with its services, it is currently riddled with a financial crunch because of no supply of engines from P&W. This has led the airline to forcefully ground 28 of its planes. SpiceJet on May 1 revealed its plan to increase the flights from Saudi Arabia to India and its different cities to bring the people rescued from Sudan. This is regarding Operation Kaveri by the Indian Government.

The carrier said it is constantly in touch with the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of External Affairs for future evacuation efforts. On April 30, the airline successfully brought 184 Indians on a flight from Jeddah to Kochi under Operation Kaveri. The airline will bring more evacuation flights to Indian cities from Saudi Arabia.

Presently SpiceJet has daily services from Jeddah to Delhi, Mumbai, and Calicut. Also, it operates flights from Riyadh to Delhi. 2,140 Indians are till now brought from Sudan under Operation Kaveri. In the past, SpiceJet has helped to bring back more than 1,600 students under Operation Ganga from Ukraine as it operated special flights to Suceava, Kosice, and Budapest.