GoAir is facing massive trouble once again as the Union aviation ministry has "temporarily given" the airlines' slots and foreign bilateral rights to other airlines due to a global supply chain crunch. This step was majorly taken because the current supply of planes was not matching up with the rising air travel demand.
With GoAir's revival looking unlikely after a major bidder withdrew, other airlines may retain these rights with government approval, as per a report by the Times of India.
Meanwhile, other players in the industry like Tata Group’s Air India and IndiGo are looking at expanding their fleets, adding one aircraft per week.
AI Express and Akasa are also planning to follow a similar trail.
Sources cited in the report said that "temporary distribution (of Go slots and bilaterals) has been happening for sometime now.”
“All airport slots that GoAir had are gone. Their bilaterals were temporarily distributed mainly among Air India, Vistara and IndiGo. Akasa asked for Go’s Dubai flying rights (it has so far got the same for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar). Now that there is no bidder left for GoAir, airlines will ask the ministry whether the temporarily distributed slots and bilaterals of Go will be put in a general pool and then given as per airlines’ needs,” officials from various airlines stated.
Last May, GoAir had ceased its operations. The airlines might now face liquidation, as the major bidder, Nishant Pitti, withdrew from the same on Saturday.
This move came after the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) deregistered and permitted the lessors of GoAir's 54 aircraft to take them back last month.
