Manish Tewari Urges Government to Reclaim Air India from Tata Group

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In a sharp critique of Air India’s management, senior Congress MP Manish Tewari has called on the Indian government to re-nationalize the airline, claiming that the Tata Group has “run the airline into the ground.” Tewari’s comments, made in a post on the social media platform X, follow a series of flight cancellations, delays, and a recent audit by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that flagged safety lapses. The politician alleges that privatization has been a “disaster,” and the airline is being managed by professionals without relevant aviation expertise.

Tewari’s post on X, which tagged Air India, the Aviation Minister, and the DGCA, was pointed in its criticism. He asserted that the airline is a “complete management mess” and claimed that the company lacks competent aviation professionals at the helm. “The Pilots and the crew tell me that people who grow tea in Tata Tea, make steel in Tata Steel, and make cars in Tata Motors are running Air India,” Tewari wrote, highlighting the diversified nature of the Tata conglomerate’s businesses to suggest a lack of specialization in the airline’s leadership.

The remarks follow a string of high-profile incidents, including a London-bound flight from Delhi that was forced to return to the bay due to a technical fault and a DGCA audit that found 51 safety lapses. The audit, which included seven critical “Level I” breaches, instructed the airline to take immediate corrective action. This recent scrutiny has added to the public’s concern over Air India’s operational standards, which the airline has been working to improve since its return to the Tata Group in 2022.

The government privatized Air India to the Tata Group in January 2022 after the airline, as a public sector undertaking, had accumulated significant losses. Despite large-scale investments in fleet expansion and technology, critics like Tewari argue the airline’s operational performance remains a concern. As the airline navigates its modernization and restructuring efforts, the government will likely face continued pressure to ensure that passenger safety and operational reliability are upheld.