AIR INDIA TO SPIN OFF MAINTENANCE AND GROUND HANDLING BUSINESSES

The Indian civil aviation ministry is considering spinning off the aircraft maintenance and ground-handling services of Air India into separate business units in a bid to help the cash-strapped airline. By segregating the businesses and the balance sheets, the move could help the company solve it employee pay parity dispute. The airline had asked for the government’s approval to operationalise the business units last year but the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had asked the airline to seek such approval from the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI). Separating the business units would also help the airline identify which are