Govt is determined to privatise Air India: Union Civil Aviation Minister

New Delhi: Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said that the government is determined to privatise Air India and people are interested in buying it.

"The government's determination to privatise Air India is a given. We have to get the best possible deal and get it in the shortest time available. People are very much interested in acquiring Air India," said Puri.

"Procedure involved in the formation of an alternate mechanism, a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been formed. A meeting at Cabinet Secretariat level has also taken place," he added.

"Total privatisation will be done in the shortest possible time and with the best deal. People are keen on acquiring Air India because it is a first rate airline. Whoever acquires Air India will be very fortunate and will be able to run it according to strong private sector principles," said Puri.

The Parliament on August 3 passed the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2019, that increases the threshold of annual passenger traffic for major airports to over 35 lakh with Civil Aviation stating that the government was committed to privatisation of Air India as its debt has become totally unsustainable.

The Bill, which seeks to amend the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008, had earlier been passed by Rajya Sabha.