Air India Stops Issuing Tickets On Credit To Govt Agencies With Debt Over Rs 10 Lakh

In a first, Air India has decided to stop issuing tickets for official travel of officers belonging to government agencies that owe it over Rs 10 lakh. Air India is the first choice for the official travel of the government and its agencies and the services of private careers can only be sought when AI doesn’t service a destination. An airline source said that the dues over various government agencies for ticket purchase go up to Rs 268 crore.

Air India has come up with a list of defaulters which include CBI, IB, Enforcement Directorate, Customs commissioners, Central Labour Institute, Indian Audit Board, Controller of Defence Accounts, and Border Security Force, reports TOI.

Last month, finance department of Air India began gathering data on government dues. The airline official maintained that those having dues over Rs 10 lakh have been put on ‘cash and carry’ in the past few weeks. These officials are being issued tickets only if the payment is made up front.

The airline is already sitting on a debt pile of around Rs 58,000 crore, besides huge accumulated losses running into thousands of crores. However, the Cabinet had approved a strategic divestment of the government’s 53.29 per cent stake in BPCL, along with transfer of certain management control.