Indian low-cost carrier Go First has canceled all flights for the next three days after filing for bankruptcy protection.

It is the first major domestic airline to file for bankruptcy since Jet Airways went bust in 2019.

Go First blamed US engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney for having many of its planes grounded, which it said caused serious cash-flow problems.

“The company had to take this step due to the growing number of engine failures supplied by Pratt & Whitney,” Go First said in a statement.

Go First said the incident forced the airline to ground 25 aircraft – accounting for about half of its Airbus A320neo fleet – causing about 108 billion rupees (£1 billion; $1.3 billion) in lost revenue and expense.

The airline also accused Pratt & Whitney of failing to comply with an emergency arbitration order, which included providing “at least 10 serviceable backup engines by April 27, 2023”.

In response, Pratt & Whitney said it “complied with the arbitration award of March 2023” and could not comment further as “this is currently a matter of litigation”.

The collapse of Go First, owned by Indian conglomerate Wadia Group, underscores the fierce competition in the country’s aviation sector.

In November, the country’s second and third largest airlines – Air India and Vistara – announced that they planned to merge.

In 2019, Jet Airways, then one of India’s largest airlines, had to shut down after struggling with more than $1 billion (£800 million) in debt.

So far, it has been unable to restart operations due to facing a lengthy insolvency process.

Additional reporting by Archana Shukla