End Of The Road For Air India? The National Carrier Could Shut Down In Six Months If It Cannot Find A Buyer

Time is running out for Air India, the country's national carrier, to find a potential buyer to save it from being grounded for good.India's flag carrier that has been accumulating unsustainable debts for years has struggled to stay afloat.

The attempts to sell the loss-making airline has also so far not made any progress, despite the government making several efforts.But it could be too late for a revival as the Maharaja could find itself on the ground as early as June 2020.?

Air India might be forced to shut down by June next year unless it finds a buyer as "piecemeal" arrangements cannot be sustained for long, a senior airline official has said.?

He said that there is a need for funds to restart operations of 12 grounded narrow-body planes, which the airline that has a debt burden of around Rs 60,000 crore is unable to procure.?

With the government leaving the debt-ridden airline to fend for itself by refusing to inject funds any more amid its privatization plans, the airline is "somehow" keeping it afloat with peace meal arrangements, which are unlikely to sustain for long, the official said.?

As per the government, it has infused funds to the tune of Rs 30,520.21 crore in the flag carrier from the financial year 2011-12 till December this year.Under the turnaround plan approved by the UPA regime in 2012, the airline was to get financial assistance of Rs 30,000 crore over a 10-year period.?

"We had sought Rs 2,400 crore sovereign guarantee to mop up funds for meeting the operational requirement. But the government has provided a guarantee only for Rs 500 crore."We are somehow managing the operations at present and at best we can sustain this situation till June. If a buyer does not come by that time, we will have to shut shop," said the official.?

In 2018-19, Air India's net loss is provisionally estimated to be Rs 8,556.35 crore.?

The fear is that, if there is no buyout plan for Air India by June, the national carrier could go the way of Jet Airways, which was grounded last year after it failed to find a buyer.The Naresh Goyal-owned full-service carrier shuttered operations in April due to cash crunch after more than 25 years of flying.?

In November, Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri had informed Rajya Sabha that the loss-making national carrier Air India might have to cease their operations if it doesn't get privatized.? ? ? ? ??