Air India crew members are being provided with substandard, ill-fitting and flimsy personal protective equipment (PPE) on special flights being operated during the lockdown, a union of the airline's pilots complained to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday.

With India under a 21-day lockdown till April 14 to curb the spread of coronavirus, all domestic and international commercial passenger flights have been suspended for this period.

Air India on Wednesday implemented a series of cost-saving measures, including reduction in allowances and fuel reimbursement for officers. However, the move is being resisted by its cabin crew — All India Cabin Crew Association (AICCA) — who have called the move discriminatory and illegal.

Around the world, airlines are responding to COVID-19 crisis with sharp reduction in capacity, pay cuts and layoffs.

The government on Friday extended the deadline for submitting bids for buying 100 per cent stake in Air India till April 30.

The deadline was originally set at March 17.

The government had allowed access to the virtual data room of Air India to interested bidders late in February and allowed them further time till March 6 to pose queries.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the civil aviation ministry are looking at the possibility of relaxing foreign direct investment norms to attract bidders for national carrier Air India, an official said. The government for long has been trying to sell debt-ridden Air India but could not attract bidders. It has now again decided to call bids for sale next month.

The total debt and liabilities of Air India (AI) have risen to over Rs 45,500 crore at September end, up Rs 5,000 crore from the level seen after the April takeover of its Rs 29,464-crore debt by the Centre through a special purpose vehicle, sources told FE.

The increase over the first half of this fiscal is largely due to short-term loans, an official source said. At the end of last financial year, the state-run airline’s debt had stood around Rs 70,000 crore.

The government is planning to invite preliminary bids for 100% stake sale in Air India next month and already some entities have expressed interest in the national carrier, sources said.

The airline is sitting on a debt pile of around ₹58,000 crore, besides huge accumulated losses running into thousands of crores.

Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL) has raised another Rs 7,985 crore through the issue of bonds, and the proceeds will be utilised to repay Air India’s debt. This the third fund-raising in little over a month by the entity.

A special purpose vehicle of Air India, AIAHL has mopped up a total of Rs 21,985 crore by way of bond issues since September 16.

Raising funds for the third time in little over a month, Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL) on Thursday raised Rs 7,985 crore through bond sale, which was oversubscribed. A special purpose vehicle of Air India, AIAHL has mopped up a total of Rs 21,985 crore by way of bond issues since September 16 and the proceeds would be utilised to repay debt of the national carrier.

Air India on Tuesday became the first airline in the world to use a Taxibot on a A320 aircraft with passengers onboard.

Taxibot is a robot-used aircraft tractor for taxiing an aircraft from parking bay to runway and vice versa.

The Centre will likely make the ailing Air India (AI) virtually debt-free by taking over an additional Rs 20,000 crore from its books before offering it afresh to bidders by the end of this month.

The government had taken over Rs 29,464-crore of AI debt earlier this financial year through a special purpose vehicle (SPV). AI’s assets, largely its fleet of aircraft, are estimated to be about Rs 20,000 crore, equivalent to the residual debt to be taken over by the prospective buyer, along with the entire government stake in the airline.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.