The government said on Friday the finalisation of Air India’s financial restructuring plan (FRP) and restructuring of loans would take another three months.
A statement on behalf of civil aviation minister Vyalar Ravi, in reply to a notice in the Lok Sabha from Gurudas Dasgupta and other MPs on the government-owned airline’s dwindling passenger share and poor financial health, said the situation was being monitored at various levels.
Opposition members alleged there was a deliberate design to make the state carrier bankrupt, in order to privatise it. Speakers from both the Communist Party of India and the Bharatiya Janata Party slammed the government, saying it was doing nothing to revive the bleeding ‘Maharaja’, which used to be a symbol of prestige, and was now on a death bed.
In response, minister of state for parliamentary affairs, V Narayanaswamy (he spoke on behalf of Ravi, who is suffering from a throat infection), ruled out any move to privatise Air India and said the government would provide "all possible support" to strengthen the carrier.
Adding: “If the government finds any officer responsible for the losses, the government will take action.”
Dissatisfied with the reply, opposition members staged a walkout.
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Narayanaswamy said the Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted on the subject had referred the FRP and turnaround plan to a group of officers for detailed examination.
The official statement said the airline had adopted several measures to improve its financial position. These included rationalisation of routes to cut losses, return of lease capacity at the earliest, complete rationalisation of manpower, reduction in contractual employment and alignment of operational and technical agreements between management and staff to reflect present market conditions. He said the market share of Air India had been constant, in the range of 16 to 17 per cent.