The new CEO of Air India, Tewolde Gebremariam, steps into a challenging role marked by safety lapses, record losses, and network disruptions amid increased regulatory scrutiny and industry turmoil.
Air India has turned to Tewolde Gebremariam at a difficult moment for the Tata Group-backed carrier, with the airline under pressure to restore confidence after a deadly crash, mounting regulatory scrutiny and another year of heavy losses. The former Ethiopian Airlines chief inherits a business that is still rebuilding after years of state ownership and now faces the far tougher test of delivering reliable growth while overhauling day-to-day operations.
Safety has become the most urgent issue. The June 2025 crash of an Air India Boeing 787 in Ahmedabad, which killed 260 people, sharpened scrutiny of the carrier’s safety culture and compliance systems. Reuters reported that Indian regulators had already reprimanded Air India for a series of lapses, including flying an Airbus A320 on multiple routes without a valid airworthiness review certificate and failing to carry out required checks on emergency equipment. The airline later acknowledged that it needed major improvements in process discipline, communication and compliance. Separate audits have widened the concern: Livemint said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation found 263 safety lapses across eight domestic airlines over 23 audits in the past year, with Air India, Vistara and Air India Express accounting for 93 of the findings. Business Standard also reported 51 safety-related issues at Air India alone, including poor pilot training, unapproved simulators and flaws in rostering.
The financial picture is no easier. Air India Group reported losses of more than $2 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2026, compared with about $1.13 billion the year before, according to the company’s results as cited in the lead report. The carrier has not posted a profit since returning to private ownership in 2022. Singapore Airlines, which owns a stake in the business, said its auditor had flagged possible impairment concerns tied to the difficult operating environment and geopolitical uncertainty, though the airline group later concluded no write-down was needed.
Air India’s network has also been squeezed by events beyond its control. Pakistan’s closure of its airspace to Indian carriers from April 2025 and the war in the Middle East forced longer routings, flight cancellations and reductions on some of the airline’s most important international routes. That disruption has given foreign competitors more room to expand. At the same time, Air India is still trying to catch up on a long-delayed fleet and cabin renewal programme after years of underinvestment. The airline has finished refitting all 27 of its legacy Airbus A320neos and is upgrading its widebody aircraft, but the work has been slowed by shortages of seats, components and other supplies. With more than 500 aircraft on order and Reuters reporting in June that Tata was pressing for deferred deliveries to cut costs, Gebremariam will be expected to balance ambition with discipline as Air India moves deeper into what Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran has called a critical phase of expansion.
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