Rajiv Bansal takes charge as Air India CMD for 2nd time, says ‘challenge before us is big’

New Delhi: Air India CMD Rajiv Bansal on Monday said that the challenge before the national airline’s leadership is big, as he took charge as its chief here.

“The challenge for us is big. But no challenge is too big if we have the right will. We will keep up the ‘josh’. Air India has done well in the past, it has to continue to play an important role and we will try to continue to do our best,” Bansal said while speaking with ANI.

This will be Bansal’s second term as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India. During his first brief stint in 2017, Bansal was credited for bringing several positive changes in the working of the distressed airline.

This time around, the challenge before the CMD is bigger as the government has already set the ball rolling for Air India’s divestment.

Earlier this month, the government invited preliminary bids to divest its entire stake in Air India, and the airline’s subsidiary Air India Express along with its joint venture Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited.

The earlier attempts by the government to sell off its stake in the national airline have been unsuccessful with bidders not evincing any interest due to AI’s high liabilities.

The government is hopeful to find a successful bidder by March this year.

Bansal is a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Nagaland cadre. (ANI)