Finance Ministry approves Rs 300 crore equity investment in Alliance Air
New Delhi:
The government is set to make an equity investment of Rs 300 crore in regional carrier Alliance Air, which is facing financial constraints, according to a senior official.
Alliance Air, formerly part of Air India, is now owned by AI Assets Holding Limited (AIAHL), a special purpose vehicle set up by the central government.
The disinvestment-linked Alliance Air operates around 130 flights daily. In recent months, there have been instances of pilots going on strike to protest non-restoration of pay at pre-Covid levels and non-payment of allowances, among other issues.
A senior civil aviation ministry official told PTI that the finance ministry has approved capital infusion of Rs 300 crore into Alliance Air.
Specific details could not be immediately ascertained.
Flights under the ‘Alliance Air’ brand are operated by the airline Allied Services, which changed its name to Alliance Air Aviation Limited.
As per the latest data available with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the authorized capital of the company is Rs 2,000 crore and the paid-up capital is Rs 402.25 crore.
Alliance Air, which widened its net loss to Rs 447.76 crore in FY 2021-22, is grappling with a financial crisis. The carrier’s cash loss widened to Rs 224.18 crore in the financial year ending March 2022.
Four companies that were earlier part of Air India are now under AIAHL. These are Air India Air Transport Services Limited, Air India Engineering Services Limited, Airline Allied Services Limited and Hotel Corporation of India Limited.
All the four companies are proposed to be split by the government in due course.
Expression of Interest (EoI) for Air India Air Transport Services and Air India Engineering Services is likely to be floated soon.
In January 2022, the loss-making Air India and Air India Express were taken over by Tata Group.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)