Air India has faced a whopping Rs 4,000 crore loss over the past few months due to restrictions while travelling over Pakistan. The neighbouring country had closed its airspace to Indian airlines amid heightened tensions in April — forcing domestic carriers to take longer detours for some international flights. CEO Campbell Wilson also admitted that US tariffs, visa restrictions and geopolitical conflicts had delivered “quite unprecedented shocks” to the Air India system.
Wilson revealed that the ongoing airspace closure was “causing an impact of Rs 4000 crore to Air India” as flights were rerouted. He explained that the airline had significant increases in fuel consumption, crew costs, and turnaround times due to the changes. Air India had told the Ministry of Civil Aviation in early June that losses would be in the ballpark of Rs Rs 5000 crore if the airspace closure remained in place.
Air India plane crash
Wilson also spoke about the devastating Air India plane crash during the event in Delhi — insisting that the airline was doing everything possible to support affected individuals. He noted that the interim probe had indicated there was nothing wrong with the plane, its engines and the operation of the airline.
“It was absolutely devastating for the people involved, for the families of those involved, and the staff. And since that time we have really been doing absolutely everything we can to support those affected, both families and also those on the ground, also the first responders, and really do whatever we can to ease their journey forward…We obviously, as with everyone else, we await the final report, and if there’s anything to learn from it, we will,” he said at his first public engagement in India post the aircraft crash.