Railway officer Ashwani Lohani to be AI’s next CMD

Officials said it was widely expected that outgoing Air India CMD Rohit Nandan will remain in place for another month till he gets a posting as a secretary to the government of India, after which Lohani will take charge with a three-year tenure.

The long wait of Air India for a new chief is finally over with IRSME officer Ashwani Lohani being appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of the state-run carrier today, Bureaucracy Today has learnt.

Lohani, who is a 1980 batch officer of the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME), has been given a three-year term after his appointment was approved by the appointments committee of the Cabinet. In June, the ministry of civil aviation asked merchant banker SBI Capital Markets Ltd to review the turnaround plan of the loss-making airline in the backdrop of changes in the operating environment and increased competition.

Mr. Nandan, a 1982 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, was given second extension till August 21.

Seasoned railways and tourism administrator Ashwani Lohani appointed chairman and managing director of Air India. Also, Air India finally entered prestigious airline grouping Star Alliance during Nandan’s tenure after several botched attempts earlier. Air India reported a net loss of Rs 5,547.47 crore in 2014-15 on the back of total revenues of Rs 19,781 crore.