Government to sell Air India’s non-core assets, subsidiaries: Jayant Sinha

New Delhi: The government will sell non-core land and buildings of Air India and consider ways of selling the national carrier’s subsidiaries handling engineering, transport and allied services, minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha informed Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The minister said in a written reply that while circumstances are not conducive for Air India disinvestment on account of volatile crude oil price and adverse exchange rate fluctuations, the government will decide the “contours of the mode of disposal” of subsidiaries Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL) and Airline Allied Services Limited (AASL).

The possibility of selling debt-ridden Air India would be revisited once global economic indicators including oil prices and forex conditions stabilize, the minister said. The loss-making company has received over ₹ 27,000 crore worth equity infusion till date from the government under a turnaround plan approved in 2012. In the current financial year, the state-owned airline received an equity infusion of ₹ 650 crore up to June, Sinha said.

At the end of March 2017, the national carrier had a debt burden of more than ₹ 48,000 crore. The government’s proposed strategic disinvestment of Air India failed to take off in May. Sinha said the government remains committed to the disinvestment of Air India.

In response to a separate question, the minister informed that there is no proposal for the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to buy a controlling stake in Sri Lanka’s Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport. Sri Lanka’s civil aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva had told the country’s Parliament recently that AAI has been asked to submit its business plan for operating the loss-making Mattala airport, news agency PTI said. e