Air India's troubles under the Tata Group as crash creates its biggest crisis
The Air India plane crash that led to the death of over 240 passengers on Thursday has plunged the airline into its biggest crisis yet and will pose a significant challenge to its efforts to revamp its reputation and fleet.
The following is a timeline of the airline's troubles since its takeover by the Tata Group in January 2022.
- January 2022: Auto-to-steel conglomerate Tata Group takes control of state-run carrier Air India in January 2022, in a $2.2 billion deal, ending years of struggle to privatise the financially troubled airline.
The Tata Group wants to recapture Air India's lost glory and compete with Gulf carriers, like Emirates, that capture the lion's share of west-bound Indian travellers. - January 2023: Air India faces criticism and around a $35,000 fine from the country's aviation regulator for its handling of an unruly passenger on a flight from New York in November 2022, and in December on a flight from Paris to Delhi. The regulator says the airline did not follow industry standards in its handling of the passengers.
- June 2023: An Air India plane flying from Delhi to San Francisco is forced to divert and land at an airport in Russia's Far East after it develops a technical issue with one of its engines.
A similar incident on the same route occurs in July 2024 due to a potential issue in the cargo hold area.
- March 2024: India's air safety watchdog fines the Tata Group-owned airline 8 million rupees (nearly $93,000) for violating flight duty time limitations and fatigue management systems of its flight crew.
Air India did not provide adequate weekly rest, adequate rest before and after ultra-long flights or adequate rest on layovers for flight crew, violating revised rules, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.
- March 2025: Air India's $400 million overhaul of its legacy aircraft's interiors has been dogged by supply chain issues that have delayed its aim of being a world class airline by months.
The first such upgraded jet enters service in March 2025, later than the mid-2024 target Air India had set when it announced the overhaul.
- May 2025: Air India says it expects to face around $600 million in additional costs if a ban from Pakistan's airspace lasts for a year, and asks the federal government to compensate it for the hit. Indian airlines braced for higher fuel costs and longer journey times after Pakistan shut its airspace to Indian carriers in a tit-for-tat retaliation following an attack on tourists in Kashmir. ($1 = 86.0950 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Meenakshi Maidas and Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan Fenton)
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