Air India CEO Campbell Wilson has resigned as the airline deals with challenges, including financial losses and the aftermath of a deadly crash last year that killed 260 people and subsequent regulatory reprimands over safety failings.
New Zealand-born Wilson, whose term was set to end in 2027, will stay in the role until a successor is appointed, Air India said.
A former Singapore Airlines executive, Wilson was brought in to lead a turnaround after Tata Group bought Air India from the Indian government in 2022 following years of losses.
Wilson said the airline had undergone a transformation during his tenure and he believed the time was right to hand over the reins.
“Air India’s privatisation has seen the acquisition and successful merger of four airlines. It has seen the complete modernisation of systems, the launch of new physical products, and deployment of elevated service standards on ground and in the air as well as 100 additional aircraft added to the fleet,” he said.
“With these foundational blocks now settling and a brief window until deliveries from the nearly 600-strong aircraft orderbook commence in earnest from 2027, the time is right for me to hand over the reins for the next phase of Air India’s rise. It has been a true honour to play a small part in this latest chapter of Air India’s long history.”
The airline said it had constituted a committee to find a successor to Campbell Wilson “in the coming months”.
The airline said that Wilson told Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran in 2024 that he wanted to step down in 2026 and that he had been working to ensure the organisation was “on a stable footing for the transition”.
“The time is right for me to hand over the reins for the next phase of Air India’s rise,” said Wilson.
In an internal message to Air India employees, Wilson said the company had undergone “a comprehensive transformation – modernising systems, launching new products, and raising service and operational standards across ground and air”.
Chandrasekaran said he wished to “record my deep appreciation for Campbell’s leadership and contribution over the past four years” in spite of “numerous external challenges” like the post-Covid supply chain disruptions, aircraft delivery delays, and “major geopolitical and other headwinds”.
Recent safety history
In June last year, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed seconds after taking off for London, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground in western India.
Aviation regulators have since reprimanded the carrier for a series of safety failings, including flying an aircraft eight times without an airworthiness certificate and operating planes without checking emergency equipment.
In December, the airline acknowledged a “need for urgent improvements in process discipline, communication, and compliance culture”.
The US-Israeli war on Iran has added further financial strain to the company’s operations. With the Gulf airspace severely disrupted since late February, Air India has been forced to reroute flights to Europe and North America over Africa, adding hours and significant fuel costs to each journey. To make matters worse, jet fuel prices have risen sharply due to the war.
Combined losses for Air India and its low-cost arm, Air India Express, reached Rs 98.08 billion (£830 million) in 2024-25 and analysts said the figure could climb to Rs 200 billion (£1.7bn) in 2025-26.
Wilson’s resignation comes days after rival IndiGo appointed Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, the global airline industry body, as its next CEO.
IndiGo’s previous CEO Pieter Elbers resigned after mass flight cancellations in December 2025 affected hundreds of thousands of passengers and 5,000 flights.
