No suggestion received to put Air India disinvestment on hold: Civil Aviation Ministry

The Civil Aviation Ministry today said it has not received any suggestions to put Air India's disinvestment on hold for at least five years.

"There is no such suggestion received in this Ministry," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said replying to a question in the Lok Sabha.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture is not in favour of disinvestment and wants that the airline should be given at least five years to revive.

In its revised draft report on the airline's proposed disinvestment, the panel noted that the turnaround period and financial restructuring plan (FRP) was for a period of 10 years, from 2012 to 2022, and Air India had shown "an overall improvement in various parameters and every indication is that it is coming out of the red".

Strongly recommending that the airline's debt "should be written off by the government", the revised draft report read, "Air India should be given a chance for at least five years to revive themselves".