Jaitley says 2 firms want to buy stake in AI

Hinting that national carrier Air India’s disinvestment could be around the corner, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday that at least two parties have formally shown interest in buying a stake in the airline.

A group of ministers, headed by Mr Jaitley, is working on the modalities of the strategic disinvestment of debtladen Air India, which has been making losses for long.

“These decisions are to be taken expeditiously, but in their normal course,” Mr Jaitley told reporters in response to a query about the Air India stake sale process.

He was speaking to the media after a Union Cabinet meeting.

The Cabinet had given in-principle approval for strategic disinvestment of the carrier and its five subsidiaries in June.

Aviation services provider Bird Group has written to the government expressing interest in acquiring Air India’s ground handling subsidiary AIATSL, civil aviation secretary R.N. Choubey told reporters earlier on Wednesday.

“After IndiGo, Bird Group has written a letter with an expression of interest in Air India,” he said.

The airline has a debt of more than `52,000 crore and is surviving on a `30,000-crore bailout package given to it in 2012.