Air India asks Tata, Singapore Air for funds after $2.4 billion loss

Air India Ltd.’s larger-than-expected annual losses of more than 220 billion rupees ($2.4 billion) have prompted the company to seek financial help from its shareholders, according to people familiar with the situation.

Boeing Co. The loss for the fiscal year ending March 31, a period punctuated by the fatal crash of the 787 Dreamliner, the closure of Pakistani airspace to Indian carriers and conflicts in the Middle East, is larger than the $1.6 billion internal loss estimate reported by Bloomberg News in January.

Air India’s controlling shareholder Tata Group, as well as Singapore Airlines Ltd., which owns 25.1% of the airline, are in talks to inject some much-needed cash, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The size of the infusion is still being discussed but it could be less than what the carrier requires, meaning Air India will have to look for other financing options, sources said.

Representatives of Tata Group and Air India did not respond to an email seeking comment, while Singapore Air declined to comment.

The record loss comes at a critical juncture for Air India. Chief Executive Campbell Wilson announced last week his intention to resign later this year. The airline was ranked worst for safety problems in the aviation regulator’s latest annual audit and has struggled to increase returns and improve service to desired levels despite ambitious fleet expansion plans.

Preventing losses was also identified as one of the key conditions for confirming Tata Group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran’s third term, Bloomberg News reported in February.

The airline started the financial year on a positive note and posted an operating profit in the first few weeks of April 2025, sources said. This changed after a brief conflict in May when Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian airlines, forcing them to take longer routes to the US and Europe.

The fatal crash of the Boeing Dreamliner in June, which killed more than 240 people, shook the carrier and led it to reduce international and domestic services.

US President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs on India and restrictions on foreign worker visas have also affected the airline’s profitability, sources said.

Back-to-back crises have disrupted the airline’s target of reaching operational break-even in the financial year ending March 31.

Air India is also one of the foreign carriers most affected by the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East, which accounts for 16% of its total capacity and has now been largely grounded, sources said. The conflict has further affected flights to Europe and America, which now have to use longer and more costly routes at a time when jet fuel prices are rising.

Singapore Air, which took a minority stake in Air India after merging its local subsidiary Vistara with the carrier in 2024, also saw its own earnings fall due to worsening performance.