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Do not sell 'the jewel', half a dozen Air India unions appeal to PM

  •   Fri, Dec 20 2019 09:57:42 PM

New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS): In a fervent appeal to Narendra Modi, over half a dozen Air India unions, including those of pilots, have urged the Prime Minister to stop disinvestment of the airline.

Instead of putting it on the block, the unions have suggested the government to make Air India a board-managed company on the lines of L&T and ITC.

"Air India has been reporting operational profit for as long as three years. Servicing the loans is a major challenge as the annual outgo is upwards of Rs 4,000 crore. We urge the government to consider waiving off the credits and have the airline run by a professional management," the joint letter said.

The letter has been sent to Home Minister Amit Shah, Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Civil Aviation Secretary P.S. Kharola and Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani.

The unions have said that selling the airline, once viewed as a "jewel", will lay heavy upon the hearts of the general public and will be a severe blow to their national pride.

Indian Commercial Pilot's Association (ICPA), All India Cabin Crew Association and Indian Pilots' Guild are some of the unions which have made the appeal to the Prime Minister.

The government is making an all-out attempt to sell its entire 100 per cent stake in Air India. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has set March 31, 2020 as the deadline for Air India disinvestment.

As per official sources, the bidding process for the airline could start as early as next month with the Expression of Interest (EoI) document being in the final stages.

Air India has been surviving on a Rs 30,000 crore bail-out package cleared by the UPA-II government.

 
  

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Comment on this article

  • James, Belman

    Sat, Dec 21 2019

    Sell air India and let the unions vanish away. These unions are responsible for the losses of the airline. At least after the privatization the airline will fly on schedule with better services

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  • darrel, mangalore

    Sat, Dec 21 2019

    its not a jewel, its a liability for tax payers, which money can be spent on roads, schools, hospitals, rather than running a airline, which will be well done by private sector.

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  • Krishna Dasa, Udupi,.

    Sat, Dec 21 2019

    Do not sell the Jewel, Return it back to it's rightful owner the Tata company.

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  • Vishal, Mangalore

    Fri, Dec 20 2019

    Indeed it would be a very sad day if and when Air India is sold by the government. Without doubt, it is India's jewel. This airline has suffered due to various reasons, the unions, a section of the staff, the governments and more than anybody else the former Aviation Minister Praful Patel. Air India, till a few years back, was the envy of foreign airlines and was indeed the pride of India. For those of us who were working abroad, it used to give us immense joy and pride to step into an Air India aircraft when we were returning home after spending two years away from our motherland. I used to get a feeling of having touched India the moment I would enter an Air India aircraft. I am sure many of you would also share the same feeling. Alas, the airline has been reduced to a pale shadow of those halcyon days. However, I am pretty sure that if the government makes up its mind and hands this jewel in the hands of a professional management, Air India can reclaim its pristine prestige and glory. I would be pained to see this airline slipping out of the government's hands. The same holds true of BSNL too. The government should go out of its way and save these precious jewels. People who love this country would always have a sentimental value attached to both these organisations.

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  • Krishna Dasa, Udupi,.

    Sat, Dec 21 2019

    It was one of the smallest Airline, had one of the worst rating from International rating agencies. Service & arrival/depart time was never was up to standard, Only helped Air India staff and Government officials with free tickets to window shop abroad and never made profit after taking over from Tata group. It was a draining national economy with mounting debt and bail out from tax payers money. Now no one want to buy it.

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  • Sanjay Serrao, Mangalore

    Fri, Dec 20 2019

    Jewel of course yes!but corroded!!😎

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  • AMAR NATHAL, MANGALORE

    Fri, Dec 20 2019

    They were in deep slumber and now they discovered that AirIndia is a jewel. They foresaw their permanent jobs are no more as permanent as they thought they were.

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