In a major relief for cash-strapped GoFirst, the airline’s lenders have approved an interim funding of around Rs 400 crore, Moneycontrol reported on Sunday. Last month, GoFirst filed for voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The beleaguered airline cancelled its flights and was looking for funding to start its domestic operations.

Now, the Committee of Creditors (CoC), which includes the Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Deutsche Bank, and IDBI Bank, has approved the request for additional funding, the report said, citing three persons familiar with the development

A top banker whose bank is part of the consortium said the lenders have approved around Rs 400 crore to the embattled airline based on the business plan and to support the revival of operations, the news outlet reported. A banker said that lenders had agreed to fresh funding based on the business plan and to revive operations. 

For now, the amount approved is around Rs 400 to 450 crore, and lenders may be open to additional contingency funding as and when required later for specific events, another banker said.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Go First had sought additional funds at a lenders’ meeting on Wednesday. The airline was asking for between 4 billion and 6 billion Indian rupees ($122 million) in additional funds, with lenders expected to evaluate proposals in the next 48 hours.

Go First plans to resume operations in July and operate 78 daily flights with 22 aircraft, a banker told Reuters. The planned resumption of operations depends on a number of factors including regulatory approvals, another banker said.

The Go First bankruptcy filing lists the Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, and Deutsche Bank among its creditors, which are owed 65.21 billion rupees in total.

Last month, Go First CEO Kaushik Khona said the airline had been facing a financial crunch due to the non-supply of engines by Pratt & Whitney that forced the grounding of its planes. The airline was now looking for an investor to resume domestic operations.