Air India on Wednesday named former Ethiopian Airlines chief Tewolde Gebremariam as its CEO, , weeks after he was reported to have been shortlisted for the same position at Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
Gebremariam had been shortlisted by PIA’s new private owners to lead the national carrier, Bloomberg reported last month, although no appointment was formally announced.Air India has now selected the industry veteran to steer the carrier’s turnaround as it struggles with losses and heightened scrutiny following last year’s deadly crash.
Gebremariam led Ethiopian Airlines for more than a decade, overseeing a multi-billion-dollar expansion that turned it into Africa’s largest airline group, with revenue more than quadrupling and its fleet nearly tripling during his tenure.
He also navigated Ethiopian Airlines through two of its biggest crises, the Covid-19 pandemic without government bailouts and the fatal 2019 Boeing 737 MAX crash.Gebremariam succeeds Campbell Wilson, the former Singapore Airlines executive appointed in 2022 to lead Air India’s turnaround after its takeover by the Tata Group.
Wilson will step down on September 30 after serving his notice.Gebremariam will take charge of an airline grappling with mounting financial and operational challenges, including heightened regulatory scrutiny following the 2025 crash that killed 260 people, disruptions from the Middle East conflict and Pakistan’s airspace ban, which have lengthened international routes and raised fuel and operating costs.
Reuters reported in January that Air India’s board was searching for a successor to Wilson. Singapore Airlines owns about a 25 per cent stake in Air India, with the remainder held by Tata Sons.
