Air India CEO Campbell Wilson to stay on until successor is announced — What we know about the airline's future plans

Air India chief executive Campbell Wilson has stepped down from his position and will remain in the role until his successor is announced and in place, the airline stated in a release on 7 April.

“Wilson had conveyed his intention to step down in 2026 to Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran in 2024 and, since then, has been working to ensure the organization and leadership team is on a stable footing for the transition,” the statement added.

Wilson's step down comes at turbulent time for airline

Notably, this development sets the stage for a leadership transition at a time when the airline is grappling with operational disruptions, rising costs and a likely record loss this year. These challenges have been compounded by the fallout from the 12 June 2025 crash of Flight AI 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by the airline, which crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport, killing 241 people on board and on the ground.

The board accepted the top executive's resignation at its meeting last week. Sources told Hindustan Times that “he will continue to be in the system until the board finds his successor — to help in a smooth transition — whenever that happens, until September.”

Campbell’s five-year term was scheduled to end in September next year.

What we know about the carrier's succession plans?

The statement added that the Air India Board has constituted a committee that will find Wilson's successor “in the coming months”.

According to HT Media, Air India is in advanced talks with candidates, and a critical meeting on the matter is scheduled next week. Meanwhile, sources have also told CNBC-TV18 that both internal and external candidates are being considered to fill in Wilson's position.

Wilson joined Air India in September 2022 on a five-year contract, months after the airline was privatised by the Tata Group in January that year. His departure means the contract is set to end a year earlier than planned.

“The new person (Air India CEO) is expected once the crash report of AI 171 is made public,” sources told HT Media. India’s air crash investigation agency released a preliminary report on 12 July last year and is mandated to release a full report by 12 June this year.

This is the second major leadership change in the aviation industry this year. Earlier in March, India’s largest airline, IndiGo, announced the sudden departure of its CEO, Pieter Elbers, who was replaced by William Walsh on 30 March.

‘Foundational blocks settling… right time to hand over reins’, says Wilson

On his departure from the aviation major, Wilson in the statement outlined his career with Air India, noting that in the “six years since its privatisation, acquisition and successful merger of four airlines, an evolution from public to private sector practices”, the airline has seen complete modernisation of systems, launched new physical products, and added 100 aircraft added to the fleet.

“With these foundational blocks now settling and a brief window until deliveries from the nearly 600-strong aircraft orderbook commence in earnest from 2027, the time is right for me to hand over the reins for the next phase of Air India’s rise. It has been a true honour to play a small part in this latest chapter of Air India’s long history, and I will continue to be an enthusiastic supporter of this wonderful organisation and its people,” Wilson added.

For the board, Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran expressed “deep appreciation” for Wilson’s leadership and contribution and acknowledged the “numerous external challenges navigated by the Air India team, including prolonged post-Covid supply chain constraints that have impacted delivery of new aircraft and retrofit programs as well as major geopolitical and other headwinds”.

“Campbell and his team have demonstrated tenacity and resolve and have aligned an organization drawn from many backgrounds behind the shared goal of building the new Air India that is now emerging,” according to Chandrasekaran.