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Government bailout of India's Go First unlikely unless engine issue resolved, says minister

The low-cost carrier filed for bankruptcy protection, blaming 'faulty' Pratt & Whitney engines for the grounding of about half its 54 Airbus A320neos

An Indian government bailout of cash-strapped Go Airlines (India) Ltd was unlikely unless something could be done about the supply of engines to the airline, which sought bankruptcy protection last week, a minister has said.

The low-cost carrier, widely known as Go First and which until recently was India's fourth-largest airline by passengers flown, filed for bankruptcy protection, blaming "faulty" Pratt & Whitney engines for the grounding of about half its 54 Airbus A320neos.

Deputy Aviation Minister V.K. Singh said the government has offered help to US-based Pratt & Whitney.

"The problem with Go Air is that their flights are run on engines of Pratt & Whitney which is facing management issues since after Covid-19 ... So (engine) manufacturing is not happening at the pace that it should have," Singh told news agency ANI on Monday.

"What can be done about a bailout? Where will Pratt & Whitney get (engines)? Bailout can only happen when something can be done about this," Singh said in response to a question about the possibility of a government bailout.

Pratt & Whitney, part of Raytheon Technologies, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the minister's remarks outside of business hours. It has previously told an arbitrator that the airline's claim of defective engines causing its demise was "astounding" and without evidence.

Go First, which has been flying for nearly two decades, is the first major Indian airline to collapse since 2019, when Jet Airways went under.

The loss-making airline's fate underscores the fierce competition in a sector dominated by IndiGo and the recent merger of Air India and Vistara under the Tata conglomerate, even though India's growing aviation industry has bounced back after the coronavirus pandemic and hit record passenger levels.

Go First on Monday called on the company law tribunal to urgently grant its request for bankruptcy protection, as more lessors sought to repossess planes and the aviation regulator told the carrier to stop selling new tickets.

The airline said on Monday it has stopped issuing new tickets.