The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Thursday ordered cash-strapped airline Go First to issue refund to all passengers after it extended the cancellation of all its flights till May 9 and suspended ticket sales till May 15, The Indian Express reported.

On Tuesday, the civil aviation regulator had issued a show cause notice to Go First after the airline filed for bankruptcy and cancelled all its flights for May 3 and May 4. In a statement, the airline had said that it was forced to file for bankruptcy due to the “ever-increasing failure” of the Pratt & Whitney engines, on which the carrier’s Airbus A320neo aircraft fleet runs.

On Thursday, the Director General of Civil Aviation said in a statement that Go First has been ordered to “process the refunds to passengers as per the timelines specifically stipulated in the relevant regulation”.

The order was issued after Go First filed a reply to the aviation regulator’s show cause notice.

In its statement on Tuesday, Go First had said that the engine failures has resulted in the grounding of 25 aircraft, which is about half of the airline’s Airbus A320neo aircraft fleet. The number of aircraft that have been grounded due to the alleged faulty engines has risen from 7% in December 2019 to 31% in December 2020 to 50% in December 2022, it added.

Meanwhile, as the National Company Law Tribunal started hearing Go First’s bankruptcy plea on Thursday, the airline sought an interim moratorium, Moneycontrol reported. The airline told the tribunal that there was scope for its revival, but it needed the moratorium as the majority of its fleet – the only asset it held – had been grounded.

Also read: What the collapse of Go First means for Indian aviation and for passengers