SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International) faces yet another legal challenge, with Wilmington Trust opening a fresh insolvency petition against the airline on June 12. Wilmington's application means three lessors are now seeking to have SpiceJet declared insolvent.
According to the National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT) cause list, the matter of Wilmington Trust SP Services (Dublin) Ltd. Vs. SpiceJet Limited (CP.No IB-349/ND/2023) is listed for mention before Justices Mahendra Khandelwal and Rahul Prasad Bhatnagar at the NCLT in Delhi on June 12. Ajay Kumar from KLA Legal Advocates and Solicitors is appearing for Wilmington.
In addition to Wilmington, aircraft lessor Aircastle and engine lessor Willis Lease Finance have launched insolvency petitions against SpiceJet in the NCLT. Those matters remain before the tribunal. Earlier this month, another insolvency petition initiated by real estate and construction company, Acres Bidwell, was resolved. Wilmington was among the lessors that applied to India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to deregister a total of five aircraft placed at SpiceJet. In response, the DGCA de-registered three aircraft, VT-MXF (msn 64507), VT-MXJ (msn 64509), and VT-SZJ (msn 41397), all of which were leased to SpiceJet by SMBC Aviation Capital via various special-purpose vehicles.
According to ch-aviation fleets data, Wilmington is the registered trust for three DHC-8-Q400s still at SpiceJet. Those aircraft, VT-SQF (msn 4592), VT-SQI (msn 4596), and VT-SQJ (msn 4599), are owned by Falko Regional Aircraft and managed by Chorus Aviation Capital. All three aircraft are out of service for maintenance reasons. It is not known whether these aircraft are involved in Wilmington's insolvency petition or if the matter relates to aircraft previously placed at the airline.
Meanwhile, despite its legal distractions, SpiceJet continues to push ahead with its revival. CEO Ajay Singh has said SpiceJet, unlike Go First (Mumbai International), has no intention of voluntarily filing for insolvency. Instead, he has stated plans to reactivate and induct additional aircraft, including reactivating four aircraft this month and last week saying SpiceJet would induct ten new B737s over the September/October period.
