Air India fulcrum of country's civil aviation sector: Hardeep Singh Puri

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday said that Air India has been the "fulcrum" around which the Indian civil aviation sector has been built.

"Air India has been the fulcrum around which the Indian civil aviation scene has been built. There is an interest in the civil aviation sector by some of our friends in the Gulf, Asia and Europe. They will want to participate in it," Puri said at an event here.

The government has initiated the process of divesting its share from Air India and is looking for suitable bidders. Earlier attempts by the government at AI divestment did not elicit any response from the potential buyers.

 

Puri also handed over the letters of appreciation issued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the 68 Air India staff who participated in the evacuation operation of the Indians stranded in the Chinese city of Wuhan after the coronavirus outbreak.

A total of 647 Indians, as well 7 Maldivians, were evacuated from Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus, Covid-19.

Appreciating the team's effort, Puri said, "We are proud of the intensive commitment shown by the Air India team to bring home their countrymen in spite of very trying conditions in the epidemic-hit Wuhan."

He further added, "I feel proud to confer the appreciation of our Prime Minister expressed through personal letters to all those who had been part of this historic mission. I heartily thank all of them once again for their service to the nation."

An emergency evacuation operation from the Wuhan city was executed by the crew of Air India, which sent two 423-seater B-747 aircraft for two consecutive days, on January 31 and February 1 this year.

The operation was led by Captain Amitabh Singh, Director Operations, Air India with 68 members of Air India. The Air India team consisted of 8 pilots, 30 cabin crew, 10 commercial staff and one senior officer. The heroic act received appreciation and acknowledgement from people all over the world.