Air India’s incoming chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam has put safety at the top of the carrier’s agenda as he prepares to take charge of the Tata Group airline, with chairman N. Chandrasekaran also setting safety, customer trust, operational execution and cost discipline as the priorities for the next phase. The remarks came during an employee town hall in India as Air India moved through its leadership transition and continued to face close scrutiny over reliability and safety.
Gebremariam told staff that a safety-first culture must be the airline’s number one priority and urged employees to stop any operation if something is not right. He also pushed for stronger operational basics, including punctual departures, punctual arrivals, baggage delivery and clean aircraft, linking customer experience directly to day-to-day execution.
Chandrasekaran told employees that Air India must earn trust in the minds of passengers and build a safety record better than the world’s leading carriers. The comments underline the pressure on the airline to strengthen compliance, accountability and cost discipline while it continues its broader turnaround under new leadership.