Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation has claimed that the domestic airlines, including Air India are running in profits. This statement has come at a time when Niti Aayog and finance ministry have voiced their views about disinvesting in the national carrier and making it a private entity. Air India currently has a debt of over ₹52,000 crores.
Jayant Sinha was addressing a press conference in New Delhi yesterday. He added that the government is working in order to transform the airline and any decision taken with regards to Air India, will be in its favour. He also added that the airline had announced an operational profit of ₹105 crores in last fiscal year, that shows the improving performance in the last few years.
Prices of Jet fuels have come down by 40-50% in last couple of years and that has been one of the factors behind airlines making great profits. According to Sinha, this has helped the airline sector in repositioning itself, after the scare in 2013-14.
Along with the decreasing fuel prices, Air India is also repositioning itself with the help of a bailout package worth ₹30,000 crores announced by the previous government in 2012. The bailout package promises to support Air India with ₹3000 crores every year till 2022. Over the last few weeks, Niti Aayog and Finance Ministry have been in talks to take effective measures and ensure that the airline gets out of debt and starts making profits. The government is even considering selling it to a private entity.