Air India divestment will not solve any problems and the government should rather focus on reviving the national carrier, 13 unions of Air India employees conveyed in a meeting to chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani on Monday.

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"Our debt is just some Rs 60,000 crore. This can be written off considering the value of the airline and the jobs at stake. The airline can be revived," some people part of the meeting said on condition of anonymity.

Lohani indicated to the union members that the divestment of the national carrier will happen and that it is "out of his hands."

The 13 unions present at the meeting were: Air Corporation Employees Union, Air India Employees Union, Indian Airlines Technicians Association, All-India Aircraft Engineers Association, Indian Commercial Pilots Association, Indian Pilots Guild, Air India Aircraft Engineers Association, Air India Cabin Crew Association, Air India Engineers Association, Aviation Industry Employees Guild, All-India Service Engineers Association and United Air India Officers Association.

The government said on Friday that it will again initiate the process of disinvestment of national carrier Air India in view of current environment.

"Government would re-initiate disinvestment of Air India," finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in her first Budget Speech on July 5.

Sitharaman had also said that the government will consider keeping its stake below 51 percent in some public sector enterprises on a case-by-case basis, hinting at selling over 49 percent stake in Air India. The government also said it will further consider liberalising foreign direct investment in aviation sector.

Last year, the government had failed to sell Air India when it had offered 74 percent stake. While a lot of parties had shown interest, none of them actually submitted bids. Some like IndiGo suggested that they weren't comfortable in a joint venture with the government.

This year, it is expected that the government may divest up to 100 percent stake in the debt-ridden carrier, hence making the deal a lucrative one for the buyer.

As per the provisional figures of FY 2018-19, the total debt of Air India Ltd as on March 31, 2019, is Rs 58,351.93 crore. While no party has come forward till now to show interest in Air India, IndiGo has shown interest, however, only for the international segment.

First Published:Jul 8, 2019 5:51 PM IST