Wadia Group, in a bid to take back the reins of Go First, is looking for partners to bid for the beleaguered airlines even as it struggles to get back to the skies. A joint bid for the airline is being discussed by the group with financial investors such as private equity funds and alternative investment funds, a report in The Economic Times stated. A final decision will depend on whether the grounded carrier can be considered airworthy again, the report added.

The resolution professional of Go First has invited investors to express their interest in the company. Starting from August 9, interested parties, whether individual companies or consortiums, will have the opportunity to submit their expression of interest for the airline. This move follows the procedural requirements under Indian law, marking the formal commencement of the search for potential buyers or investors.

According to experts quoted in the report, the former promoters are eligible to bid for the airline since they haven't defaulted on their loans. Through various entities owned by Nusli Wadia and his family, the group owned 100% of Go First, the report added. The airline has a total liability worth INR 11,463 crore to all creditors.

Section 29A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) makes a person/entity ineligible to bid for an asset if declared a willful defaulter or if the person is a promoter of a company that has been classified as a non-performing asset (NPA) by banks.

The process of inviting an Expression of Interest (EoI) signifies the formal commencement of seeking buyers or investors for a potential investment, in line with procedural requirements under Indian law. The group wants to hedge its bets in the aviation sector and thus wants to partner with a financial investor while holding a majority stake. But the airline must start flying soon to preserve the value of its assets. "If the grounding is prolonged, then it becomes non-viable without assets such as parking slots and trained manpower," an official told ET.

Latest Developments of Go First

On Monday, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told the Delhi High Court that the lessors of Go First could not carry out maintenance work on the grounded aircraft. According to the aviation regulator, based on their records, Go First is the only entity authorised to maintain the aircraft. If there was insufficient clarity regarding the maintenance responsibility, it could hinder the processing of Go First's revival plan, posing a safety concern, the DGCA said.

In its latest plan submitted to the regulator, the airline said it can recommence approximately 160 daily flights with 26 aircraft and out of these, it is expected to keep around 3-4 aircraft in reserve for a backup in case of technical glitches in any of the operational aircraft.

Go First’s filing for bankruptcy protection in May attributed the grounding of approximately half of its 54 Airbus A320neos to “faulty” Pratt & Whitney engines. This unfortunate circumstance has further complicated the situation for the struggling carrier.

The airline clocked INR 4,183 crore in revenue from operations in FY22 and has approximately 4,200 employees on rolls, the preliminary information for interested bidders showed. The grounded airline owes creditors, led by the Central Bank of India, more than INR 6,500 crore. Central Bank has INR 1,987 crore of outstanding loans, including about INR 650 crore of post-Covid emergency lines.

(With Inputs from The Economic Times)

The 6th Annual Airport Modernization Summit is scheduled for 13th -14th July 2023 in New Delhi, India. With the theme ‘The Evolution of Smart & Futuristic Airports’ this event mainly aims to put a spotlight on the country’s efforts to modernize the Indian Airports. It will create an open window for stakeholders to network and initiate business partnerships, and investment opportunities and share the best practices that can exercise in Airport Modernization. This summit is estimated to spellbound a wide range of participants, including aviation industry leaders, Govt. officials, investors and representatives from Airport Organisations, Aviation Sector and Airlines.

The 6th Annual Airport Modernization Summit attributes a panoramic agenda that excavates into key topics with keynote speaking and Panel Discussions such as the Deployment of Digital Technologies to Modernize the Indian Airports, Shaping the Future of the Aviation Industry, Opportunity for Digitalization: Airport collaborative decision-making is the key, Sustainable & Resilient Infrastructure; A significant Transformation for the Airports, Blueprint for Sustainable & Smart Airports; Infrastructure, Planning; Urban Design and many more. This summit provides a platform for presenting Airport Projects aiming at promoting civil aviation to adopt and implement them in modernizing Indian Airports.

Renowned speakers from Indian Airports will share their insights, experiences, and visionary ideas, providing delegates with valuable knowledge and actionable strategies. A few of the best speakers listed include -

• Suresh Khadakbhavi, CEO, Digi Yatra Foundation
• Anuj Gupta, CEO & Director, Hitachi Systems India
• Venkata Subba Rao Chunduru, Director & Head, India Operations ARCADIS / IBI Group
• Sunil Ankalgi, Regional Director, Sales (AAO), AMADEUS IT Group
• Emmanuel Bonnargent, Chief Commercial Officer, PADS4
• Anubhav Gupta, Chief Strategy Officer, APL Apollo and many more to the list

Delegates will have ample networking opportunities, enabling them to forge meaningful connections with industry leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, and government officials. The summit is carefully crafted for the delegates to learn and get benefitted from the rich content on Airport Modernization and technological evolution in the Aviation Industry.

Sponsors and Exhibitors are benefitted from an opportunity to launch new technology and solutions for the aviation sector, our Key Sponsors will take the stage to discuss and give a bird’s eye view of the Aviation Industry, the current developments, trends, challenges and way forwards.

The Summit has received an overwhelming response and we have on-boarded some of the Key Sponsors;

TIER 1 Level: Amadeus, Hitachi, APL APOLLO, Kyndryl, WAISL

TIER 2 Level: PADS4, IBI GROUP and

TIER 3 Level: Digitos Technologies and a few more to be added to the list.

This Summit is supported by DigiYatra and our esteemed media partners Aviation & Defense Universe, 100 Knots, Cargo Connections, Airport Suppliers, India Strategic, EPC World, Digi Freight, Project Cargo Network, Freight Book and Silicon INDIA.

Mr. Shyuj Kumar, the Managing Director of TraiCon Events, shared his excitement about the upcoming event - “We are honoured to bring the 6th Annual Airport Modernization Summit to the dynamic city of Delhi. This summit has consistently provided a platform for Airports & Aviation industry. With a strong focus on Indian Government’s initiatives to modernize and develop the Airport Infrastructure, we aim to explore new horizons, empower innovators, and inspire visionary solutions that contribute to the Evolution of Smart & Futuristic Airports.”

About the Organizer 

TraiCon India is a leading provider of global training, B2B events and management consulting for diversified industries that are looking to scale opportunities and be more effective in delivering their businesses to the right people at the right time. TraiCon conceptualizes & organizes flagship events on Emerging Technologies in APAC & MENA regions. To know more, visit: https://traiconevents.com

SatAuth has been selected as the official real-time aircraft data supplier for Project SALUS, a European Space Agency (ESA) project, through their ARTES program under the Space Systems for Safety and Security program. The consortium led by CGI IT UK, with SatAuth, Code Magus, UK Space Agency, Cranfield University, and Amazon Web Services, will develop a service demonstrator for a universal virtual flight data recorder, UVFDR. The UDFVR will be replicating the function of a traditional crash-protected flight data recorder (Black Box) in a virtual, cloud-based environment. 

Replicating the function of a traditional crash-protected flight data recorder (Black Box) in a virtual, cloud-based environment, the new system will allow the assured, authenticated and provenance-controlled storage of data transmitted by an aircraft while in flight. It will enable access to that data almost immediately in case of an emergency, incident, or accident. The Universal Virtual Flight Data Recorder (UVFDR) will be designed for use on any aircraft equipped to send engineering telemetry and operational data to the ground.

Following extensive testing and EASA certification, SatAuth has completed installation and situational testing on a number of commercial airliners since 2016. Volumes of autonomous data have been captured, which is invaluable to understanding aircraft in-flight parameters. The are delivered directly to the Airline customer via a secured portal designed to meet our customers’ requirements specifically. We pride ourselves in designing solutions which are flexible to accommodate not only regulations, but providing additional services capable of delivering a return on investment for customers. We meet and exceed the GDASS 6.18 Annex 6 requirements.

Neil Timms, Senior Vice President Space, Defence and Intelligence for UK & Australia at CGI said: “Understanding the cause of an air-related incident is vital to helping improve flight safety, and indispensable for those impacted and their families. CGI is proud to be working with ESA, whilst building on our heritage in safe, secure cloud, to develop a virtual flight recording service that allows any suitably equipped aircraft to send flight data to a secure cloud storage facility.”

Designed to meet Global Aeronautic Distress and Safety System (GADSS) aircraft tracking and flight data recovery requirements, a future UVFDR service can be used on its own on smaller aircraft, or alongside traditional recorders on aircraft legally required to carry them. The future UVFDR services could also reduce the time and effort required to locate aircraft in distress, as well as provide critical telemetry to ground-based engineers assisting their crews.

Heather Britton, Head of Space Applications at the UK Space Agency and UK Representative of the ESA ARTES Programme, said: “The UK has always been a leading innovator in aerospace and aviation. UVFDR is another great example where space technology helps solve a real-world challenge, and it’s great to see the UVFDR team carry the torch forward by developing cutting edge aviation technology to further improve safety and operations in the UK and globally.”

The European Space Agency actively supports innovative solutions, highlighting the potential of space technologies for the benefits of all aviation stakeholders (airlines, business and general aviation, airport, civil aviation authorities). “We are delighted to support CGI’s industry-leading virtual flight data recorder” said Arnaud Runge, Project Manager at ESA. “I myself hold a commercial pilot license and welcome an initiative which will make use of satellite-based technologies to make aviation even safer than it is today."

The system is built using CGI’s TrustedFabric, a proprietary blockchain solution for the secure storage of highly sensitive data and is hosted on the cloud. The system is scalable and a future commercial service is planned to be made available globally. The technology also offers the potential to support additional services, such as improved technical support for aircraft in flight, flight recording solutions for remotely piloted and advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicles, and airspace data integration services for air navigation service providers. CGI will work with ESA, Code Magus Ltd, Cranfield University, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and industry stakeholders SatAuth and others to define use cases and system requirements for a global UVFDR service. The concept being developed makes use of the increasing availability of satellite data communications bandwidth, and the growing number of aircraft equipment capable of transmitting flight data, such as Quick Access Recorders (QAR) and similar systems.

Dr. Li Wen-Chin of the Safety and Accident Investigation Centre, Cranfield University said; “The system will not only provide assured truth data required by investigations, but it can also detect and flag potentially unsafe situations before they occur. Our vision of the future is that flight crews in abnormal situations have access to much better support than what’s presently possible.”

Paul Roux, Managing Director of South African aircraft tracking and data transmission systems manufacturer SatAuth, said: “CGI’s UVFDR will offer our customers the opportunity to not only meet the GADSS mandates, but to improve their operational data and information management beyond mere compliance, leading the way in integrated cutting-edge 21st century aviation safety technology.”

CGI

Founded in 1976, CGI is among the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world. With 91,000 consultants and professionals across the globe, CGI delivers an end-to-end portfolio of capabilities, from strategic IT and business consulting to systems integration, managed IT and business process services and intellectual property solutions. CGI works with clients through a local relationship model complemented by a global delivery network that helps clients digitally transform their organizations and accelerate results. CGI Fiscal 2022 reported revenue is $12.87 billion and CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB). Learn more at cgi.com.

Code Magus Limited

Code Magus Limited has been working together with SatAuth for a number of years, providing product, security interface and integration architectures for the SatAuth GCP server. They are responsible for data security, encryption, replication, and fault detection for local and international financial institutions’ complicated infrastructure networks, and have devised algorithms for the detection of core system failures which significantly reduce the institutions’ exposure to hardware malfunctions. Code Magus also conducts non-functional and high throughput transaction testing, transaction security and integrity software as well as high throughput transaction validation. 

SatAuth

SatAuth is about providing secure efficient Tracking and Alerting Solutions to Airline quality standards. Following extensive testing and EASA certification, SatAuth has completed installation and situational testing on a number of commercial airliners since 2016, capturing volumes of autonomous data invaluable to understanding aircraft in-flight parameters, and delivering these directly to the Airline customer via a secured portal designed to specifically meet our customers’ requirements. We pride ourselves in designing solutions which are flexible to accommodate not only regulations, but providing additional services capable of delivering a return on investment for customers. 

Noida International Airport Ltd (NIAL) is likely to invite this week expression of interest (EoI) for the development of MRO facilities at the upcoming airport in Jewar near Delhi, according to officials. The EoI will be open till October this year and NIAL is expecting a response for MRO not only from commercial airlines and private operators but also aircraft manufacturers, a senior officer said. MRO stands for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul in the aviation industry. It refers to the activities involved in maintaining, repairing, and overhauling aircraft, aircraft components, and systems to ensure their airworthiness and safe operation.

The EoI for developing MRO facilities at Noida International Airport will be floated soon, likely this week. We are expecting a response from private operators, airlines and aircraft manufacturers for the MRO, NIAL's chief executive officer Arun Vir Singh told PTI. The time for response on EoI will remain open till October this year and based on the inputs, we will decide the future course of action that is whether to form a joint venture or opt for any other method for the development of MRO facilities, Singh said.

An EoI is a preliminary step in the tendering process where interested parties express their intent to participate in a specific project or contract. It helps the procuring entity assess the suitability of potential bidders before moving forward with the formal bidding process.

Singh said the Uttar Pradesh government intends to develop the Noida airport as a major hub not only for airline operations and cargo transfers but also as a hub for MRO, noting the lack of a major facility elsewhere in the country. The senior IAS officer said the government has taken initiatives to promote the establishment and growth of MRO facilities in the state. It has offered incentives and subsidies to attract MRO operators, including land allocation and tax benefits.

MRO Hub at Uttar Pradesh

The aim is to position Uttar Pradesh as a leading MRO hub in the country, said Singh, one of the key government officials involved with the airport's development since its beginning. A 2022 Niti Aayog report noted that with a current fleet size of about 713 aircraft and more than 1,000 aircraft planned to be added shortly, India is poised to become the third largest buyer of commercial planes after US and China. As a consequence of rising fleet size and conducive government policies, the Indian aerospace industry has emerged as one of the fastest-expanding markets globally.

Buoyed by an annual passenger growth of 15% (pre-COVID), the Indian aviation sector is expected to become the third-largest air passenger market by 2024. The exponentially rising civil aviation industry, therefore presents a strong case for the development of the MRO industry in India. Although at a nascent stage, the size of the industry being USD 1.7 billion as of 2021 it is expected to reach USD 4.0 billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 8.9% as compared to the global average of 5.6%, the report stated.

Rising consumer demand, increasing fleet size, favourable policy interventions and labour arbitrage are some of the key factors that can potentially fuel the growth and development of MRO services in India, it noted. Currently, work for the first phase of development of Noida International Airport is underway at Jewar, some 75 km from Delhi, and is expected to be ready for commercial operations by the end of 2024.

Yamuna International Airport Private Ltd (YIAPL), a special purpose vehicle, was established for the development, construction and operation of the project, which is to be developed over 5,000 hectares in four phases. YIAPL, a 100% subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, will be responsible for the implementation of the public-private partnership project. The concession period for the airport commenced on October 1, 2021, and will run for 40 years.

Noida Airport’s Multi-Modal Cargo Hub

Air India's joint venture firm AISATS and Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd announced signing a concessionaire agreement for a multi-modal cargo hub at the upcoming Noida international airport which is expected to be operational in 2024. As part of the plan, Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited (AISATS) will design, build, finance and operate the cargo hub, which is expected to come up on 87 acres of land and provide quick, convenient and intermodal connectivity to and from manufacturing hubs across the country.

Through this facility, AISATS aims to provide India's logistics sector with a cargo processing and transportation grid that will help reduce logistics costs significantly, streamline processes for seamless coordination, and bring speed and transparency to the country's supply chain, according to a release.

"The AISATS cargo hub at Noida will play an integral part in providing just-in-time cargo facilities for the north India region and will support in levelling up the Indian logistics and air cargo sectors with infrastructure, value-added services and improved cost efficiency," said Nipun Aggarwal, Chairman of AISATS.

The strategic location of this first-of-its-kind cargo hub will seamlessly connect multiple modes of transportation with consolidated ancillary and value-added services, establishing a highly efficient route for cargo throughput across India and abroad, AISATS said. The hub will provide a Coolport for handling temperature-sensitive cargo such as perishables and pharmaceuticals, along with separate domestic and international cargo terminal zones and dedicated courier terminals to handle express courier shipments.

Additionally, the MMCH will house a bulk utilisation program (BUP) facility for integrators and global forwarders, the AISATS said, along with a consolidation centre for freight forwarders and agents, a customs-controlled warehouse, a logistics park for e-commerce players and 3PL warehouses, and a trucking centre with world-class parking amenities. Through this facility, AISATS aims to provide India's logistics sector with a cargo processing and transportation grid that will help reduce logistics costs significantly, streamline processes for seamless coordination, and bring speed and transparency to the country's supply chain, according to a release.

The company's technology-driven solutions such as a cloud-based cargo management system for end-to-end cargo tracking, reporting and network connectivity will benefit all stakeholders. The company will also provide a single-window cargo community system to enable more efficient communications and a smart warehouse with technologies such as automated dimension scanners, conveyors, radio frequency identified trackers, autonomous vehicles, and video analytics-based monitoring.

Godrej Aerospace is in talks to make aircraft parts for suppliers to Airbus and Boeing, a top executive at the company told news agency Reuters. This comes amid rising anticipation of an oncoming industry churn as airlines place record orders for planes. Godrej Aerospace collaborates with global majors like Rolls-Royce, Boeing and GE to develop and manufacture critical components. It is the first Indian private sector firm to manufacture core modules for Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) engines.

Air India and IndiGo have ordered nearly 1,000 new planes together, Maneck Behramkamdin, associate vice president and business head at Godrej Aerospace, told Reuters. Such a magnitude of orders means that 2,000-2,500 engines would at some point need maintenance, he added. It is worth noting here that India has been pushing for local manufacturing as well as indigenous sourcing of components for aerospace and defence. Several companies, including Airbus and Boeing, recently committed to Make in India more.

"With so many aircraft coming into India, Airbus and Boeing need to augment their supply chain. Tier two suppliers of Airbus and Boeing are now looking at India ... we are in talks with them," Reuters reported Behramkamdin as saying. According to him, contracts to supply the structure of the aircraft present a lot of opportunities. He said there are also large titanium requirements, adding there will also be demand for maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft parts.

Godrej Aerospace in India 

The company said that Godrej Aerospace already exports some key components to engine makers General Electric and Rolls-Royce. The company expects its civil aviation business to log revenues of INR 100 crore in the current fiscal year. That will make up 35% of Godrej's total revenues, Behramkamdin said. He added that he expected revenues to grow to 50% next year.

Godrej Aerospace will also pitch to manufacture modules of GE 414 engines and become part of the supply chain for the workhorses that will power the next generation of Indian fighter jets, the Reuters report said. Under a deal reached during PM Modi's US visit last month, the engines will be manufactured jointly by GE and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Godrej Aerospace has also strengthened its focus on indigenous manufacturing, innovation, and technological advancements. Godrej Aerospace is planning to invest INR 250 crore to build a new facility at Khalapur in Maharashtra for advanced manufacturing and assembly, and integration facilities. Godrej Aerospace also expects 1 billion Indian rupees ($12.10 million) in revenue from civil aviation business in its current financial year.

(With Inputs from Reuters)

The Hon’ble Delhi High Court, in a combined order  in favor of the Go First Lessors, granted interim relief qua maintenance and preservation of the Aircraft leased to insolvent Go First and observed that:

“The 30 Aircraft are ‘assets’ owned by the Petitioners which were previously under a contractual agreement i.e., the Lease Agreement(s) with the corporate debtor. Explanation (a) to Section 18 of IBC excludes assets owned by a third party in trust or contractual agreement …….

………

Thus, prima facie, the IRP is not required to take control of the same under the provisions of the IBC.”

8 lessors owning 30 Aircraft have filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court seeking a writ of mandamus, directing deregistration of the respective Aircraft owned by them and facilitating the export and physical possession of these aircraft. 

The Court has stated on record that though by this order it is deciding the interim applications as filed by the Petitioners, the parties have almost substantially argued the matter.

Brief Summary of the Observations and Directions of the Court:

• The Court opined that in accordance with the unambiguous provisions of the Lease Agreements(s), which gave the right to terminate the Lease Agreements(s) on an occurrence of an event of default (Non-payment of lease rental; Voluntary Bankruptcy; and Involuntary Bankruptcy), the Petitioners had the authority to apply for deregistration of the Aircraft by filing an application with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), without the consent of the Lessee (Go First), which is what was done by them. Moreover, the provisions of the Aircraft Act, 1934 and the Aircraft Rules inter-alia provide that no person shall use and operate an Aircraft unless it is in accordance with the Aircraft Rules. 

Rule 5 (registration etc. of an Aircraft) states that unless an Aircraft has been registered and it bears its nationality and registration marks, it shall not be flown. Thus, once an event of default has occurred and the Petitioners have terminated the Lease Agreement(s) commenced the process of de-registration of the Aircraft, which cannot be flown.

• Relying on the judgment in the case of Awas 39423 Ireland Ltd. & Ors. v. Directorate General of Civil Aviation & Anr. , wherein a coordinated bench of this Court has dealt with Rule 30(7) of the Aircraft Rules, this Court observed that: “….the Respondent/DGCA has to proceed in accordance with Rule 30 (7) of the Aircraft Rules and the Court cannot interfere even on the grounds of equity; keeping in mind, the protection of private business transaction law in India, international conventions such as Cape Town Convention must be followed; the disputes qua validity of the termination of the lease are not relevant for the purposes of deregistration, and the contention that public interest will be impinged if the deregistration is granted is not a valid ground for refusal.”

• In response to the main defence raised by the Respondent/Go Air, represented by Interim Resolution Professional/Resolution Professional (IRP/RP), that issues raised by the Petitioners ought to be considered by the NCLT and this Court does not have the jurisdiction to entertain the present Writ Petition, the Court observed that the provisions qua registration/deregistration of an Aircraft are inter-alia subject matter of the Aircraft Act and Aircraft Rules framed thereunder and the Petitioners have approached this Court alleging on a failure of the Respondent/DGCA to comply with these provisions, which amounts to administrative action and the Hon’ble Court is well within their rights to do so. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) are statutory bodies constituted under the provisions of Sections 408 and 410 respectively of the Companies Act, 2013 and have the powers to adjudicate upon matters which relate to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). 

• The Court after concluding that in accordance with Section 18 of IBC, the IRP is not required to take control of the Asset/Aircraft and because the Petitioners have made out a strong prima facie case in view of the provisions of the Aircrafts Rules, passed the following directions:

• The Petitioners, their employees, agents, officers and/or representatives shall be permitted by the Respondent/DGCA and the appropriate Airport Authorities to access the Airport(s) where the 30 Aircraft are parked inter-alia to inspect their respective Aircraft.

• The Petitioners and their authorized personnel shall be allowed to inspect and perform maintenance tasks on all 30 aircraft at least twice a month until the final resolution of the writ petitions.

• GoAir, its employees, and representatives are forbidden from removing or replacing any accessories, parts, or documentation from the 30 aircraft without written approval from the lessor of such Aircraft.

• With respect to MSN 6072, whose Certificate of Registration and Certificate of Airworthiness have expired, and several mandatory maintenance tasks are overdue, Respondent/DGCA shall permit the Respondent/RP to carry out the mandatory maintenance/engine runs of this Aircraft until its de-registration.

The interim relief order dated 05.07.2023 has not yet attained finality and can be challenged by the Respondents before a division bench of the Delhi High Court as has been submitted by the Respondents before the NCLT in the IBC proceedings. 

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