New Delhi: Air India chief executive Campbell Wilson has resigned but will stay on with the company till a successor is found, according to four people familiar with the matter. The development sets the stage for a leadership transition at a time when the airline faces operational disruptions, rising costs and a likely record loss this year.
Wilson’s resignation was accepted at a board meeting last week, these people said. “He will continue to be in the system until the board finds his successor — to help in a smooth transition — whenever that happens, until September,” one of them said.
Campbell’s five-year term was scheduled to end in September next year.
Air India refused to comment on the matter.
The search for a successor had begun in January after Wilson had expressed his wish to not continue after his contract ends, people familiar with the matter said. He joined Air India in September 2022 on a five-year contract — after the airline was privatised in January that year — and that is now set to end a year before term.
Air India is in advanced talks with candidates and a critical meeting in this regard is scheduled next week, another person close to the development said.
However, when asked about the possible candidates, he said, “They are all full-service carrier CEOs. Naming someone is not correct at this stage.”
Comes amid turbulence
The airline is grappling with multiple challenges, the latest being airspace restrictions due to the West Asia crisis, aircraft supply constraints and rising costs, people aware of the matter said. The airspace curbs have forced the airline to take longer routes with fuel stops, significantly increasing operational costs, especially on international routes which form a large part of Air India’s network.
These challenges add to the fallout of the June 12, 2025 crash of one of the company’s Boeing Dreamliners (Flight AI 171), shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport, killing 241 people on board and on the ground.
Reports have said that the airlines losses could be as high as ₹20,000 crore in FY 2026.
An industry insider said, “The airline should look for someone with strong credibility, global experience in running a complex full-service carrier, familiarity with low-cost operations (for Air India Express), and who is within five years of retirement.”
The CEO of Air India Express, Aloke Singh’s tenure as a CEO expired on March 19. He announced this to the airline employees via an emial on March 2.
Task cut out for successor
“The new person (Air India CEO) is expected once the crash report of AI 171 is made public,” a second person said. India’s air crash investigation agency released a preliminary report on July 12, and is mandated to release a full report by June 12, 2026.
Air India is not the only Indian airline to see a leadership change this year. India’s largest airline, IndiGo, which faced widespread disruptions in December last year, announced the sudden exit of its CEO Pieter Elbers on March 10 and appointed its new head William Walsh on March 30.
