According to a senior official, the Central government has given a nod to the proposal for a strategic disinvestment of Air India’s ground handling subsidiary, Air India Air Transport Services Limited(AIATSL) to revive the fortunes of Air India which is indebted with more than Rs 50,000 crore.
The official told, “The Alternative Mechanism on Air India disinvestment, under the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, has approved EoI (Expression of Interest) along with the Preliminary Information Memorandum for the sale of Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL).”
Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu was also present in the meeting among several others. It is believed that the earnings from the sale of AIATSL will be used to pay-off a part of Air India’s accumulated debt.
The main objective behind incorporating AIATSL in June 2003 was providing all types of services at airport which include rendering airport ground handling services such as those pertaining to passenger, ramp, security and cargo for Air India. The strategic disinvestment plan includes making Air India competitive by cutting down the massive debt by selling land assets and other subsidiaries.