Air India will default on payments without govt help in fundraising: Lohani

Air India is losing Rs 150-200 crore each month despite 10 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue

Air India needs to survive till it is sold, the airline’s Chairman Ashwani Lohani wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday, in a fresh plea to government for funds.

Lohani’s comment comes days after he highlighted the airline’s grim financial health in a letter to the civil aviation ministry. Over the past few months, Air India is seeking government guarantee to raise a Rs 2,000-crore loan. So far, the government has not acted on the request. The airline would default on payment obligations if capital is not raised, Lohani is said to have written in the letter.

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