Go First to credit two months of salary in Sept: CEO Kaushik Khona

Grounded airline Go First's CEO Kaushik Khona has informed the airline's employees that the company will credit two more months of unpaid salaries in September.

Last week, the airline had credited full salaries for the month of June to its staff following the approval of the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) cost of Rs 100 crore by the airline's lenders.

The airline did not respond to queries sent by Business Standard until the time this report went to press.

Additionally, around 35 investors have expressed interest in the carrier's sale, and this process is expected to be wrapped up by April next year. Go First resolution professional (RP) Shailendra Ajmera had invited Expression of Interest (EoI) in July.

In the meantime, the RP will run the airline to resume its operations with a fleet of 25 aircraft.

Last month, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had approved Go First's plan to resume flights subject to the outcome of pending court cases and availability of interim funding. The regulator had approved the airline to operate 15 aircraft or 114 daily flights as part of Go First's resumption plan.

The CIRP costs that were approved last week included Rs 37 crore on salaries for Go First, tax deducted at source (TDS) and provident fund of Rs 20.50 crore on the employee front, and Go First ground support employee health insurance of Rs 1.75 crore.

Go First has 2,198 employees on its payroll, of which 1,000 are serving their notice period. The airline has 103 captains, 26 co-pilots, and 374 cabin crew staff.

Go First had on May 3 suspended its flights and filed an insolvency application. It had squarely blamed engine-maker Pratt and Whitney (PW) for its cash crunch, stating that about half of its 54 aircraft were grounded on May 3 due to delay in the supply of engines by the US-based company.

Last week, aircraft lessors told the Delhi High Court that critical airline parts were missing from at least two aircraft in the airline's fleet.