NEW DELHI, Oct 6 — The Indian aviation minister’s remark over the weekend that AirAsia India’s “shop is shutting down” highlights the six-year-old budget airline’s problems in the country.
There have been reports in the Indian media that AirAsia India, a joint venture (JV) between Malaysia’s AirAsia Bhd and Indian conglomerate Tata Sons, is facing a funding crunch.
Responding to a question about the airline, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said its “shop is anyway shutting down.”
“Their parent company has problems,” he added.
According to a Times of India news report, Tata Sons, which owns 51 per cent of the venture, is looking to buy AirAsia Group Bhd’s 49 per cent stake.
“AirAsia, because of its financial difficulties, is not keen on infusing capital into the India JV. It wants the JV to take on debt to run the operations. Tata Sons is forced to consider buying out AirAsia,” said an unnamed source cited in the report.
Aviation is among the hardest-hit businesses in India during the Covid-19 pandemic turmoil.
AirAsia Group on Monday announced that it was halting its Japanese operations due to the tough operating conditions as a result of Covid-19.
— Bernama
