Tata might relook decision to retain new Air India CEO if govt delays background check

Image for representation

The newly appointed CEO and MD of Air India, Ilker Ayci, a Turkish national, to undergo a thorough background check by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The sources on February 20 said MHA will “scrupulously” carry out the whole process. 

The Tata Group, which acquired Air India from the government, had recently announced Ayci's appointment as the CEO and MD of the loss-making airlines. The Home Ministry "scrupulously" carries out a thorough background check of all foreign nationals when they are appointed in the key positions of any Indian company, the sources said. It will be the same process for the newly appointed CEO and MD too, they said.

However, the MHA has not yet received any communication on Ayci from either the Tata group or the Civil Aviation Ministry, the nodal ministry. Once a communication is received, the whole process of security clearance will begin, the sources said.

Since Ayci is a Turkish national, the MHA is expected to take help from the external intelligence agency, RAW, for his background check. Ayci was an advisor of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, when the latter was mayor of Istanbul, from 1994 to 1998. He had served the Turkish Airlines as its chairman from 2015 to 2022 and was credited with turning the airline around.

With inputs from PTI