India’s beleaguered state-owned airline Air India, which failed to get even a single bidder for its disinvestment plan, is struggling to pay salaries to its employees.
The loss-making airline has delayed paying salaries to its employees for the third consecutive month, reports Press Trust of India.
The airline management has also not told its staff when their salaries for the month of May will be paid. It has 11,000 permanent employees, the agency added.
Although salaries were delayed in March and April as well, they were paid on April 7 and May 7.
After the bidding process suffered a setback on May 31, Air India asked the government to “restore” equity infusion in the carrier. The airline has a debt of 500 billion rupees.
The loss-making carrier had received more than 260 billion rupees under a bailout package announced by the former UPA government in April 2012.
The UPA government approved a turnaround plan under which Air India was to receive a total equity infusion of 302.31 billion rupees up to 2021, subject to meeting certain performance thresholds.