January 27 was set as the date to complete the handover of Air India to Tata Group, a delay from the previous end-December deadline. The target timeline for closing the deal was extended to the end of January after finalizing the airline’s balance sheet and obtaining the necessary approvals from global regulators.

What are the other steps to transfer the airline to Tatas?
The airline will share its balance sheet with Tata Group on Monday for a review, which is expected to be completed on Wednesday, according to an Air India official. After that, a handover is likely on Thursday (January 27). The closing date for the balance sheet is set for January 20.

Why was the transfer delayed in the first place?
On October 11, the centre issued a Letter of Intent (LoI) to Tata Group confirming its willingness to transfer 100% of the airline’s stake to the Mumbai-based conglomerate. At the time, the projected transfer schedule was set for the end of December. The date was extended to the end of January due to various pending approvals.

Why is there a delay in finalizing the balance sheet?
A final balance sheet is being prepared and approved by various airline regulators, lenders and lessors. The balance sheet, which will be provided to Tata Group, is expected to account for Air India’s daily losses of Rs 200 crore until the deadline. Furthermore, the Indian Express reported on Sunday, citing a response from RTI, that various government departments and ministries had not made payments of Rs 278.49 crore to Air India as of October last year.

What fees do these dues cost?
According to the data, the pending amount includes Rs 2,447.8 crore from over 700 government ministries and ministries as of September 2021 and Rs 337.1 crore for various VVIP flights as of July 27, 2021.

This also includes the Prime Minister’s flight dues of Rs 7.2 crore and the President’s flight dues of Rs 614 crore. The airline has started recovering outstanding dues from various government departments and as of November 30, 2021, the airline has recovered Rs 3,038 crore.

Complete News Source : The Indian Express