Air India's new CEO faces financial and safety turbulence

Air India has appointed a new chief executive as the airline grapples with mounting challenges, including heavy financial losses and the fallout from last year's crash that killed 260 people.

Tewolde Gebremariam succeeds Campbell Wilson, who stepped down from the role in April .

Gebremariam was earlier CEO at Ethiopian Airlines, where he worked for over a decade, growing the regional carrier into one of Africa's largest airlines.

Air India, which Tata Group bought from the Indian government in 2022, has been dealing with a period of operational turbulence.

The airline operates a fleet of 198 aircraft, flying nearly 5,000 weekly flights to 91 destinations in India and abroad, according to the Air India website.

Air India said Gebremariam was unanimously chosen by its board after an extensive search, citing his leadership and operational expertise to steer the airline's "next phase of growth".

N Chandrasekaran, Air India chairman, said: "Having completed the initial phase of stabilisation, integration, and fleet commitments under Campbell's guidance, Air India is now entering a critical execution and expansion era."

Wilson, a former Singapore Airlines executive hired after Tata Group bought Air India nearly four years ago, had signalled in 2024 that he planned to step down in 2026 and had been preparing the airline for a smooth transition.

Now, his replacement Gebremariam has said that he is looking forward to building a "world-class global airline" that "reflects India's extraordinary economic potential".

During his tenure at Ethiopian Airlines, Gebremariam was credited with expanding the fleet nearly threefold and growing it into Africa's most profitable airline.

At Air India, however, Gebremariam faces a daunting task. He takes over as the airline grapples with a series of safety and operational challenges, led by last June's fatal Ahmedabad-London crash, a major setback to its ambitions. The final crash report is due in October.

The airline has continued to struggle since returning to private ownership, reporting a record loss of nearly $2.3bn (£1.7bn) last month. Chandrasekaran has warned a turnaround could take up to a decade. The airline has also cut nearly a third of its international operations.

The airline has also made headlines for a string of operational setbacks. In March, a Delhi-Vancouver flight turned back after nearly eight hours because it lacked clearance to enter Canadian airspace.

These troubles come as India's wider aviation sector faces pressure from rising costs, disrupted international routes due to the Iran war, aircraft delivery delays and tighter regulatory scrutiny.

Aviation experts told the BBC that Gebremariam may be the leader Air India needs, pointing to two defining crises he steered Ethiopian Airlines through: the 2019 Boeing 737 Max crash that killed 157 people and the Covid pandemic, when the airline stayed profitable by expanding its cargo business as passenger revenues collapsed.

"Gebremariam endeared himself to his employees during both these black swan events, especially his backing of the pilots and engineers at Ethiopian," Sanjay Lazar, CEO of Avialaz Consultants, told the BBC.

At Air India, Gebremariam's priorities will include rebuilding workplace culture, lifting employee morale, accelerating delayed fleet expansion and refurbishment, and reshaping the airline's network to stem losses, experts say.

Air India has not said when he will take over, saying details will be announced later.

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