AI mulling closing loss-making routes

Cash strapped Air India is mulling several options including closing operations on routes where the losses were high in a bid to reduce mounting expenditure.

Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said on Friday that the loss-making routes of the state-owned carrier however have not been identified yet but the process is underway.

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"Our focus is on reducing expenditure. We are discussing several options, including closing operations on loss-making routes," Ravi said.

Ravi also said the airline is not contemplating job cuts to cut losses.

A Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has asked the airline to improve its cash flow and reduce losses.

"We will not touch staff. There is no question of cutting jobs. We are working on several other measures to reduce expenditure," he said.

The GoM is expected to meet again next month to take some decisions to improve the financial condition of the ailing airline.

Rohit Nandan, Joint Secretary in the Civil Aviation Ministry, was recently appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director of the airline replacing Arvind Jadhav, who has been repatriated to his parent Karnataka cadre.

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