Air India losses widen to over US$2 billion amid geopolitical disruptions
Singapore Airlines, which holds a 25 per cent stake in Air India, disclosed the figure in its annual report released on Thursday (May 14), citing airspace restrictions, supply chain constraints and higher fuel prices as key headwinds.
Visitors gathered near India's first Airbus A350 of Air India airline during the 'Wings India 2024', an exhibition and conference on civil aviation, at the Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad on Jan 18, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Noah Seelam)
NEW DELHI: Air India Group recorded a record loss of more than US$2 billion for its 2025-26 fiscal year, according to shareholder Singapore Airlines' annual report, as India's second-largest airline grappled with disruption from the Iran war and Pakistan's ban on Indian carriers from its airspace.
In the report released on Thursday (May 14), Singapore Airlines (SIA), which owns a 25 per cent stake in Air India, said the Indian group's losses amounted to S$3.56 billion, or US$2.8 billion at current exchange rates, for the 12 months to end-March. Singapore Airlines did not indicate the exchange rate it had used to calculate the loss.
Reuters previously reported that Air India was expected to post an annual loss of over US$2.12 billion. The loss will be another major setback for Air India, which has been forced to cut scores of international flights in recent months, hitting turnaround plans at the Tata Group-owned airline.
In a report included with SIA's disclosures, its auditor KPMG said the company's management saw "indicators of impairment" for the Air India investment, citing challenging operating conditions and heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
Air India, which is not listed in India and has not yet filed its earnings with local regulators, declined to comment. Its 2024-25 standalone loss stood at US$415 million, with consolidated losses when including budget operator Air India Express of US$1.13 billion.
"Air India faces headwinds such as industry-wide supply chain constraints, airspace restrictions, constraints on operations to its key Middle East markets, and elevated jet fuel prices," SIA said in a statement, adding that it was committed to its investment in the group.
Air India's flight cuts are a boon for foreign carriers, with Lufthansa Group and Cathay Pacific among those adding services to one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Air India has also been facing intense scrutiny since last year's Dreamliner crash in Gujarat, India, which killed 260 people. SIA warned that surging fuel costs due to the Iran war were still "filtering through" and would weigh more heavily in the year ahead, as it reported a smaller-than-expected 57.4 per cent drop in annual profit.
