Tewolde Gebremariam is set to take charge as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Air India on Monday following the departure of Campbell Wilson from the position at a time when the airline is facing scrutiny over safety and reliability as well as stem losses.
Gebremariam is the former chief of the Ethiopian Airlines, and although he is set to unofficially take charge and was introduced to the employees on Monday at a townhall meeting where chairman N Chandrasekaran was also present, he is still not being designated officially as the CEO.
This is because Gebremariam is yet to get the required security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). His security clearance is expected to arrive by the end of September, as per a report by the Economic Times.
As per India’s civil aviation rules, the MHA needs to do a thorough background check before providing security clearance to senior officials being appointed at airlines, especially if they are foreigners.
Gebremariam joined Air India last month, and since then he has been working closely with Chandrasekaran as well as former Air India chairman and managing director Pradeep Singh Kharola. They will be working closely with Gebremariam for his first few months as the Air India CEO, the publication reported citing officials in the know.
Many woes plague Air India as Gebremariam takes over
Gebremariam is joining Air India at a time when the airline is facing scrutiny over safety concerns. In June last year, an Air India aircraft crashed in Ahmedabad, killing more than 270 people. Last month, 20 passengers as well as four members of the crew of an Air India Phuket-Delhi flight suffered injuries after the aircraft suffered a sudden loss of altitude.
The captain of the flight was terminated from his services after he tested positive for a psychoactive substance, the airline said on Friday, 4 September.
Gebremariam borrows Trump campaign slogan with a twist
On Monday Gebremariam addressed Air India employees for the first time, wherein he called for renewed focus on the basics of airline operation, as per a report by PTI.
“If we do the right things at the right time, the sky is the limit,” he said, adding, “we will Make Air India Great Again (MAGA)”, echoing the slogan of US President Donald Trump.
Gebremariam also recalled his experience of working with Air India when he was posted in Mumbai in the 1990s. He said that the airline was then at the top of the civil aviation industry.
Gebremariam stressed on safety being the top priority for the airline: “Safety-first culture has to be the number one priority,” he said, adding that if something is not right, “it should be stopped.”
“Operational excellence is about getting the basics right every day — on-time departures, on-time arrivals, baggage delivery and clean aircraft,” he said.
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