Govt should take back Air India from Tata group: Manish Tewari

Congress leader Manish Tewari on Friday urged the government to take back Air India from the Tata Group, alleging that they have run the airline into the ground and that privatisation of the once national carrier has been a disaster.

In a post on X, the Chandigarh MP alleged that people "who grow tea" and "make cars" are now running Air India and hardly any aviation experts are running the airline.

"Government of India should take @airindia back from the Tata Companies. They have run the airline into the ground," Tewari said in his post.

There was no immediate comment available from the Tata group or Air India.

"Flights cancelled at the drop of a hat, flights delayed without any explanation whatsoever. The pilots and the crew tell me that people who grow tea in Tata Tea, make steel in Tata Steel, make cars in Tata Motors are running Air India.

"People I have known personally over the past 40 years and are sound professionals. The airline is a complete management mess. There are hardly any competent aviation professionals running Air India," the Congress leader alleged. "The privatisation has been a disaster," he also said.

The government had privatised Air India in January 2022 to the Tata Group after an open bidding process.