Go First employees in a lurch, look for employment at Air India, IndiGO

Go First pilots and other crew members are troubled as they look for employment opportunities at Air India and IndiGo, among others, The Times of India (ToI) has reported. The development has come to fore as Go First Airlines filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, April 2. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is scheduled to hear the insolvency request today, April 4.

This is not the first time that an airline has gone out of cash and decided to stop operations. In earlier instances, airlines like Kingfisher and Jet Airways have collapsed.

The latest turmoil leaves around 5,000 employees at Go First in a lurch as they are unsure if Go First will resume operations. Also, if it does, they are worried, how many of its aircraft will fly and for how long.

Go has been facing financial challenges for a long time now. Earlier, it had sent its employees on long unpaid leaves. Employees have suffered a delay of upto two months in salary disbursals, the TOI report said. There is a great deal of uncertainty among the staff. Employees who worked with Go First for several years are apprehensive about the payment of their gratuities.

In a logical sequence of events, Air India and IndiGo are receiving job applications in large numbers.

Challenge for the lenders

Go First has taken loans from various banks including Axis Bank, IDBI Bank, and Central Bank of India (CBI). Among these, CBI has the largest exposure to the troubled carrier at Rs 2,000 crore.

Go First's market share up for grabs

As Go First suffers, rivals in the industry are preparing to occupy the market share the airline is leaving behind. Reportedly, Go First has a domestic market share of seven per cent in the country. ToI quoted SpiceJet as saying that it plans to revive its 25 grounded aircraft soon. To this end, SpiceJet will tap into the emergency credit line guarantee scheme (ECLGS).