Now Reading: Air India losses hit Rs 47,821 crore under Tata turnaround
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Air India losses hit Rs 47,821 crore under Tata turnaround
The Air India Group has posted 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…
The Story in Brief
The Air India Group has posted 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 five-year transformation plan, Vihaan.AI, has been delayed by fleet renewal setbacks, supply-chain disruptions, and a shortage of technical talent.
The merger with Vistara in November 2024 added complexity across fleets and cultures. A major setback came on June 12, 2025, when Air India flight AI-171 crashed near Ahmedabad, killing 260. Since then, the DGCA has issued multiple show-cause notices and a Rs 1-crore penalty for lapses. Chandrasekaran recently admitted the turnaround could take up to 10 years.
The Indian Opinion
The narrative that a corporate giant can single-handedly revive a national carrier within a few years is colliding with reality. Air India's accumulated losses under the Tatas are not just due to poor management, but also global supply-chain woes, geopolitical disruptions, and a tragic crash. Blaming only one side misses the complexity of running an airline with ageing fleets and multiple mergers. The true test will be whether the group can cut annual losses before 2030, or if taxpayers will be asked to bail it out again.
Source: rediff.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
