Applications by lessors of Go First on hold, not rejected, says DGCA
The applications of several aircraft lessors of Go First for deregistration of their planes are showing “rejected” due to a technical glitch on the portal, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday told the Delhi high court. It also added that their pleas are not being processed due to the moratorium imposed on the cashstrapped airline.
The lessors are unable to deregister and take back the aircraft leased to the carrier because of the moratorium.
Advocate Anjana Gosain, representing DGCA, said when lessors send deregistration requests to the regulator, it is done in five working days. She said in this case, no application has been rejected.
“There was a glitch in the portal due to which it showed that the applications have been rejected. They made the applications on the portal on May 4. Unfortunately, a glitch came. When they opened on May 12, it showed them to be rejected,” she submitted.
She further added that when the DGCA received the moratorium communication, it conveyed to the lessors their applications were not being processed because of that.
During the hearing, justice Tara Vitasta Ganju asked the counsel for DGCA as to why different responses were sent to different lessors on repossession requests.
“Why is there a distinction? There are 7-8 petitions and each one of them has a different response. Why so?” the court asked.
The court asked the DGCA counsel to produce the documents about each petitioner lessor on Thursday when it will hear further arguments on behalf of the aviation regulator.
The counsel for DGCA said that she will produce before the court the entire list of 54 applications including those of the petitioners and others.
The lawyers for the lessors last week said that they approached the civil aviation regulator for deregistration of their aircraft but it rejected their pleas, according to the status of their applications posted on the regulator’s website.
The lessors who are in the high court include Accipiter Investments Aircraft 2 Limited, EOS Aviation 12 (Ireland) Limited, Pembroke Aircraft Leasing 11 Limited, and SMBC Aviation Capital Limited. On Tuesday, fresh petitions by three other such companies were also listed.