'IndiGo will walk alongside Air India in his honour': MD Rahul Bhatia pays tribute to Ratan Tata

Krithivasan shared that Ratan Tata had a rare gift for making those around him 'feel valued and heard'

IndiGo will walk alongside Air India to secure India's rightful seat at the centre stage of global aviation, InterGlobe Enterprises group managing director Rahul Bhatia has said in his tribute to Ratan Tata, recalling Tata Sons chairman emeritus’ passion for flying and the aviation sector.

Bhatia joined millions of people from across the world, including industry leaders, politicians and artists, in remembering Ratan Tata, who died in a Mumbai hospital on October 9. He was 86.

“As we all know, Mr. Tata had a deep passion for flying machines, and I was only too pleased to see Air India return to where it truly belonged.

“While I am much too small a man to say this, in tribute to Mr. Tata's love for flight and his vision for the future of Indian aviation, IndiGo will, ever so modestly, walk alongside Air India to secure India's rightful seat at the centre-stage of global aviation," Bhatia said.

Tata Group took control of Air India on January 27, 2022, regaining ownership of the airline after nearly 70 years. The conglomerate had in October won the bid to take over the cash-strapped national carrier in a $2.4 billion equity and debt deal.

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Bhatia, who offered condolences to the Tata family and the employees of the group, fondly recalled his interactions with Tata in the 1980s. "I had the occasion to engage with Mr. Ratan Tata when I returned from college in 1985 and discussed the opportunity for a three-way collaboration on manufacturing digital telephone switches between the Tata Group, Nortel (then Northern Telecom), and the earlier avatar of InterGlobe. While the initiative didn’t come to fruition, Mr. Tata's refreshing openness and disarming humility left an indelible impression on me," Bhatia said.

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Thousands of people lined up at Mumbai’s NCPA lawns to pay their last respects to Tata, whose final rites will be performed after 4 pm with full state honours.