Air India's ground handling, engineering units to be put on sale: Report

Air India

The government is planning to invite expressions of interest (EoI) for the erstwhile ground-handling and engineering units of Air India by November as it aims to complete the transaction this fiscal, business daily the Economic Times reported.

The department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM) last week started roadshows to scout for buyers for Air India Airport Services (AIASL) and Air India Engineering Services (AIESL) to scale bidders’ interest. Consultancy firm EY is the transaction adviser for the process, the report said.

Also Read: Vihaan.AI: Air India to increase its market share by over 30% in domestic market in 5 years

The roadshows saw participation from Indian companies such as the Bird group and Tata Sons, the holding company of Tata Group which now owns Air India, for the ground handling unit. Major international companies such as Swiss ground handling company Swissport and Turkish firm Celebi Aviation Holding also showed interest.

Moneycontrol couldn't independently verify the report.

The roadshow for AI engineering services also saw participation from Tata Sons and the Adani group. The roadshows are being conducted to take feedback from the industry so that the expression of interests (EoIs), the initial step to get the process going, can be designed in a way to get more response.

“We want to incorporate the feedback from the industry so that the sale process is simple and fast. The companies have been profitable and are very attractive with presence across India and ready-made trained workforce,” a government official told ET.

As part of the process, two agencies have been appointed to verify and tag the assets of the two companies that lie across airports in India.

As part of the share purchase agreement entered into between Tata Sons and the government during the disinvestment of Air India, there is a lock-in period of three years during which Air India is required to continue its business with the ground handling and engineering unit.

The autos-to-steel conglomerate completed its purchase of Air India in January 2022.

Air India recently said it was aiming to increase its domestic market share by more than over 30 percent and also expand international presence.

Releasing a transformation plan is titled “Vihaan.AI”, the company on September 15 spelled out its objectives for next five years.