DGCA de-registers 3 SpiceJet planes; requests for 2 more planes put on hold on lessors’ request

NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has de-registered three SpiceJet aircraft on lessors’ request, of which two were grounded and one in use.

“Lessors had filed applications for re-possessing two more SpiceJet planes. They subsequently asked DGCA to put their requests on hold. So we have not acted on them,” said a senior official. After Go First declared bankruptcy earlier this month, lessors have so far filed requests with DGCA to repossess 45 Go First and five SpiceJet planes under IDERA. Lessors use this option in cases like default of lease rentals and aviation regulators have to de-register aircraft within five days of getting this request.

Foreign lessors have been alarmed ever since National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted Go First’s plea for voluntary insolvency due to which their request for repossessing 45 of Go’s 54 aircraft cannot be processed.