Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India Ashwani Lohani on Saturday said that the rumours regarding the public carrier shutting down are baseless, adding that, it would continue to fly and expand.
Asserting that the national carrier is still India’s biggest airline, he said that there should be “no cause for concern to travellers, corporates or agents.”
“Rumours reg air India shutting down or closing operations are all baseless. Air India would continue to fly and also expand and there should be no cause for concern whatsoever to travelers, corporates or agents. Air India the national carrier is still the biggest airline of India,” Lohani tweeted.
Rumours reg air India shutting down or closing operations are all baseless. Air India would continue to fly and also expand and there should be no cause for concern whatsoever to travelers, corporates or agents. Air India the national carrier is still the biggest airline of India
— Ashwani Lohani (@AshwaniLohani) January 4, 2020
The response from the airline comes two days after Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had met with several representatives of the Air India unions regarding the privatisation of the national carrier.
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The government had on Tuesday said the privatisation of debt-ridden Air India has become a compulsion as fear grows about the shutdown of the national carrier.
“I had said earlier also, for us, it is not an option. Air India has to be privatised,” Puri had said. The Minister had also said the debt over the Air India has made it unsustainable and the national carrier needs to go in private hands to keep it running.
“Air India over a period of time has now gathered debt, which could be described as unsustainable,” Puri had said.