Air India's new chief Tewolde Gebremariam takes charge: Big plans to 'Make Air India Great Again' with safety-first approach

Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran and incoming CEO Tewolde Gebremariam placed safety as the top priority as both addressed Air India employees on Monday, coinciding with the former Ethiopian Airlines executive taking the helm of the carrier."The most important thing Air India should aspire to have is trust in the minds of people... Air India must be known for caring about safety above everything else," said Chandrasekaran. "Our safety record should not just match the best airlines in the world; it should be better than the best...Safety is not about what we say. It is about what we do every day."The focus on safety comes as Air India faces severe scrutiny due to repeated serious violations, including one last month where a captain operated a flight, under the influence of psychoactive substances, which encountered a sudden drop in altitude injuring 20 passengers. Indian investigating agencies are also in the final stages of enquiry of the crash of an Air India Dreamliner jet last year that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad."A safety-first culture has to be our number one priority," said Gebremariam. "It is not enough to say it. We must live it every day," he said, adding that his role is to do MAGA (Make Air India Great Again), borrowing from the campaign slogan of US President Donald Trump.The new CEO takes charge as Air India battles multiple challenges including a more than ₹26,000 crore in accumulated losses as of FY26, necessitating fresh funding from Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines. The carrier has been heavily impacted by continued airspace closure over Pakistan, which has made flights to North America unviable.The increased requirement of funding support from the promoters has raised criticism in Singapore where a parliamentarian has opposed more investment by Singapore Airlines, which holds 25.1% in Air India. On Monday, Chandrasekaran emphasised that the promoters will be standing strong behind the airline, echoing the message of Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek."Bringing Air India back to the Tata Group is one of the most important milestones of my career, a very, very significant event," Chandrasekaran told staff. "Air India belongs to a billion people. It is not just another business. It is probably the only business that a billion people talk about, have views on, criticise fiercely and appreciate at times. But one thing we should remember is that all these one billion people are rooting for Air India. That is our biggest strength."