Air India fires over 1,000 staff in 3 years

Dhaka: Air India has terminated more than 1,000 employees over the past three years for ethical violations, according to the airline's CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson.

Wilson made the remarks during a town hall meeting with staff on May 10. He cited infractions such as smuggling items off aircraft, allowing passengers to carry excess baggage without charge, and misuse of the Employee Leisure Travel (ELT) system.

The CEO emphasized that hundreds of employees face termination every year due to non-compliance, urging staff to act with integrity even without oversight.

In March, sources revealed that Air India had detected large-scale discrepancies in the use of its leisure travel policy involving more than 4,000 employees, prompting corrective actions, including financial penalties on the erring staff.

Tata Group-owned Air India, which currently employs around 24,000 people, has also implemented broader cost-cutting measures. These include withholding annual increments and urging staff to reduce discretionary and non-critical expenditures.

Wilson cautioned that it is going to be a "very, very difficult year" if conditions on the Middle East front do not improve.

The Air India Group — comprising Air India and Air India Express — incurred an annual loss of over INR 22,000 crore, equivalent to USD 2.4 billion, in the financial year ended March 2026.

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