A Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday approved the Expression of Interest (EoI) as well as the share purchase agreement for Air India's privatisation, a senior government official said. The EoI and the share purchase agreement would be issued in January itself for the bidders.
Air India chief Ashwani Lohani on Saturday said that "rumours" of the disinvestment-bound airline's shutdown are "all baseless", weeks after he told the Civil Aviation Ministry that the carrier's financial situation was "grossly untenable" for sustaining operations.
Passengers onboard an Air India flight resorted to unruly behavior after they got restive with the delay. Aviation regulator DGCA has asked the national carrier to look into the issue after the video shot by a passenger went viral. The Air India flight 865, was scheduled to depart at 10 a.m. on January 3, from Delhi but flew out at 5:59 p.m.
Bookings for the international flights of Air India have declined since the talks of airline shutting shop have picked up pace. As per reports, there is a sense of worry among agents and passengers that Air India will be closed down if not privatized soon.
Weeks after the Air India chief stated that the airline's financial situation was "grossly untenable" for sustaining operations, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri clarified on Tuesday that the national carrier, which is incurring a loss of Rs 20-26 crore daily, will keep on running till it is privatised.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri while speaking on Air India's privatisation said they don't become a slave to or victim of certain deadlines but are trying to privatise Air India as quickly as possible.
Amid continuing uncertainty over the fate of the national carrier, the official said there is also need for funds to restart operations of 12 grounded narrow-body planes.
Cash-strapped Air India on Friday paid flying allowance for October to its around 1,600 pilots, a source said days after a section of them sought immediate payment of the pending amounts. Flying allowance, which constitutes between 50-80 per cent of a pilots' salary, is generally paid in the first week of a succeeding month.
The airline has also stopped issuing tickets to these departments, except for some such as the AAI and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The airline has sought immediate repayment of dues, and until then no tickets will be issued on credit to the officials of these departments.
Debt-laden Air India has stopped issuing tickets on credit to officials of various government agencies such as the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, which owe it more than Rs 10 lakh each, a senior official of the national carrier said on Thursday.
Air India unions have suggested the Centre to make the airline a board-managed company just like L&T and ITC.
According to the ratings agency, while the aviation turbine fuel prices have been benign in the current fiscal, yields continue to be under pressure.
Realme is set to launch the Realme X2 and the Realme Buds Air at an event in India today. Here's how to watch its livestream.
Disinvestment-bound national carrier Air India is mulling launching a flight service to London Stansted from the country's financial capital, a senior airline official said.
As the central government is planning to invite bids for Air India soon, its CMD said on Saturday that expecting a radical improvement in the airline bordering on a turnaround is an impractical thought "in this environment of disinvestment".
The national carrier, which has a debt burden of more than Rs 50,000 crore, has been making loss for long and as part of revival efforts, the government has decided on disinvestment.
Cash-strapped Air India has sent an urgent SOS to the government, seeking immediate sovereign guarantee for raising Rs 2,400 crore as fresh loan to somehow keep flying till outcome of the second divestment process is known.
Debt-laden Air India has received an equity infusion of Rs 30,520.21 crore from financial year 2011-12 till date, the government said on Thursday and reiterated that it is committed to the disinvestment of the national carrier.
Seeking to ensure aviation biggies' participate in the bidding for Air India sale, the government may dilute substantial ownership and effective control (SOEC) clause in the FDI guidelines for the airline sector. Official sources said the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has been discussing the proposal with administrative Civil Aviation Ministry.
National carrier Air India chipped in to ferry Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia on their state visit to India when their aircraft developed a technical snag at the last minute.
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