Turbulence Before Takeoff: The Go First Airlines’ Insolvency Process And Rights Of International Aircraft Lessors Under India’s Insolvency And Bankruptcy Code
- IJLLR Journal
- Aug 1
- 2 min read
Dristi Kakoty, B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam
ABSTRACT
This paper studies the legal conflict of aircraft lessors by analyzing the Go First Airlines’ Voluntary Insolvency process which took place in accordance with Section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, thereby leading a remarkable pathway between India’s Aviation & Insolvency Laws. The process revolved around the conflict of the aircraft lessor’s exclusion from the protection of the moratorium as thereby outlined in Section 14 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. This conflict was given rise by India not incorporating the Cape Town Convention (CTC) fully. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) upheld the insolvency, thus denying the lessors their right to hearing before the admission. The Delhi High Court in furtherance of the matter allowed lessors to repossess their assets by giving directions to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to deregister those aircraft that were being leased. The case thereby pointed on the clash between domestic insolvency proceedings and the rights of international creditors which should be safeguarded. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code’s natural justice and commercial morality came under a scrutiny which marked the journey ahead for India’s commercial litigation too. This paper thereby examines the various important and contemporary policy reforms and judicial interpretations such as the Protection of Interests in Aircraft Objects, 2025 and Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ Exemption Notice, 2023. By analyzing the very case of Go First Airlines, this paper would interrogate if Aviation specific Insolvency Laws to reconcile sector wise regulations and obligations to global treaties were a need of the hour to India, thereby also safeguarding the rights of International Creditors focusing on Aircraft Leasing.
Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC), Go First Airlines, Cape Town Convention (CTC), Aviation and Insolvency Law Conflict & Aircraft Lessors’ Rights.
