The government on Thursday claimed that the losses of Air India were coming down and admitted that there were “some issues” which were affecting the process of its merger.
The losses have started declining and with more synergy the situation will improve further, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.
On the criticism regarding mounting losses in the national carrier after merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, he said “the merger was planned with a great degree of confidence...Yes, there are some issues which need to be handled carefully and merger is not a one-day process, it is 2-3 years process for full integration.”
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He asserted that Air India would remain a national carrier under the UPA regime.
Asserting that the government was fully committed to support National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) which runs the merged carrier, Mr. Patel said Rs. 800 crore worth of equity was infused into it last year and another Rs. 1,200 crore would be put in this fiscal.