New Delhi: Air India is allegedly asking Rs 10,000 crore ($1.14 billion) in financial relief from its owners, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, as it deals with a number of challenges, including a catastrophic crash in Ahmedabad in June and airspace limitations caused by India-Pakistan military clashes in May.
According to Bloomberg, Air India has requested financial assistance to upgrade its systems and services, as well as to establish in-house engineering and maintenance departments.
Air India was yet to comment on the report.
While the Tata Group has a 74.9 per cent stake in the carrier, the remaining is held by Singapore Airlines.
Air India is expected to incur losses worth Rs 4,000 crore after Pakistan's airspace restrictions.
Air India's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Campbell Wilson, said earlier this week that the preliminary investigation report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on the AI-171 crash found no fault with the airline’s operations or practices.
Speaking at the ‘Aviation India 2025’ summit, Wilson said the July report concluded there was “nothing wrong” with Air India’s procedures or aircraft maintenance that required any changes.
However, he added that the airline continues to introspect and improve its systems. “Anything that happens in the industry, whether that’s us or others, is a cause for introspection. It’s a cause for reviewing practices,” Wilson said.
“The interim report indicated that there was nothing wrong with aircraft engines or practices that required changing. But, of course, we're always looking at how we can keep improving, keep getting better, and keep learning,” he added.
The comments came in the backdrop of the tragic Air India Flight AI-171 crash on June 12. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, flying from Ahmedabad to London, crashed into a college building shortly after takeoff, killing 241 people on board and leaving only one survivor.
The AAIB’s preliminary report, released on July 12, revealed that fuel supply to both engines was cut off shortly after takeoff.
With inputs from IANS