Air India To Make Big Change

Air India is set to undergo yet another shake-up in its turnaround efforts, with Campbell Wilson, the flag carrier’s CEO, likely to be replaced.

The Economic Times has led reporting indicating that, through its sources, the airline is searching for a new CEO, Wilson’s term scheduled to end in mid-2027, but now, after a year of turbulence, could come to a close even sooner.

Wilson is widely regarded across the industry and was hired to help steer Air India back on course under the new ownership of the Tata Group, which took over the carrier from the government, which had long neglected the airline.

But now, that spell could be coming to an end. Two sources linked to the airline and knowledgeable about the leadership say inquiries have already been made with CEOs in the United Kingdom and the United States. These executives are already at airlines that could act as successors.

While the flag-carrier and mainline brand is the focus, it’s not the only move that’s likely to be made. Wholesale changes will likely also see the airline move ahead with similar modifications to Air India Express operations, with a fresh face to hopefully accelerate turnaround efforts.

Tata Group has invested heavily in the turnaround of the airline Group. Still, it’s not been easy, and while there have been ever-so-slight results, it has been a challenging few years under Wilson’s tenure. Arguably, not all of this has been on him either.

As part of turnaround efforts, Tata Group has invested heavily in new aircraft, branding, seats, and more to try to right the many systemic wrongs that have plagued the airline, but progress hasn’t been quick.

A Troubled Year For Air India

The last 12 to 18 months for Air India have been turbulent, indeed headlined by a fatal accident involving a 787 Dreamliner, which was tragic and led to audits into how the company operates.

With those audits, it has been uncovered on more than one occasion that airlines mishandled safety-critical areas, from the approval to fly aircraft to the handling of crew, and so much more.

For example, the flag-carrier was only just handed a cause notice by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in recent days, following multiple flights operated by the Boeing 787 despite technical snags and Minimum Equipment List (MEL) restrictions.

Then, at the beginning of December 2025, it was reported that the airline operated an Airbus A320 for two days, from 24 November through 25 November, with an expired airworthiness certificate, something it would’ve needed to handle months in advance but did not.

That negligence has been highlighted time and time again. It indicates that cultural issues continue to plague the airline and will take more than just multi-billion-dollar investments to fix, similar to what Boeing has experienced, but far more ingrained in the airline’s fabric.

The governing regulator, the DGCA, has repeatedly expressed frustration, further evidenced by an audit finding of 51 separate safety lapses that emerged in July following the 787 incident, which prompted a greater laser focus on the business.

With Campbell Wilson heading up the airline, progress over the last four years has been evident, but many issues across the business remain; the consensus is that a fresh voice is now needed.