Now Reading: Air India losses top Rs 47,821 crore under Tata’s Chandra
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Air India losses top Rs 47,821 crore under Tata’s Chandra
Air India Group has logged cumulative losses of Rs 47,821 crore since the Tata group took over in January 2022, making its turnaround one of the biggest unfinished projects of outgoing Tata…
The Story in Brief
Air India Group has logged cumulative losses of Rs 47,821 crore since the Tata group took over in January 2022, making its turnaround one of the biggest unfinished projects of outgoing Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran. The airline’s loss for FY26 alone doubled to Rs 22,238.22 crore from Rs 10,858.82 crore the previous year, according to the company's annual report.
The turnaround has been hit by global supply-chain disruptions, fleet delays, the complex merger with Vistara, and the June 2025 crash of AI-171 that killed 260 people. Chandrasekaran recently said full recovery could take 5 to 10 years. The DGCA has issued multiple show-cause notices and a Rs 1-crore penalty for operational lapses.
The Indian Opinion
The narrative that Tata would magically fix Air India overnight was always wishful thinking. Four years and Rs 47,821 crore in losses later, even Tata Trusts are worried. The crash of AI-171 was a tragic setback, but the deeper rot, ageing fleet, creaky systems, and now a stretched 5-to-10-year turnaround timeline, predates it. The test is not whether Air India survives, but whether the group can stomach bleeding another Rs 10,000 crore a year without throwing more good money after bad.
Sources (2): rediff.com, businesstoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
