Focus on passenger safety, work as cohesive force: Air India CMD to employees

New Delhi: Urging employees to work as a cohesive force in the interest of the national carrier, Air India chief Ashwani Lohani today said there would not be any compromise on the safety of passengers or operations. Lohani, who recently took over as the chairman and managing director of the government-run airline, in a letter to the 27,000 employees today, said Air India is a brand, which needs to be revived with concerted efforts from all.[caption id=“attachment_2400882” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani. Image from Lohani’s Twitter account[/caption] “There shall have to be concerted focus and attention on safety and enhancing passengers experience. Safety is paramount and there will not be any compromise on safety related matters,” Lohani said in the letter. He said there was a need to enhance passengers experience, which can be done through high standards of cleanliness of the aircraft, improvements to the cabin, audience announcements and courteous behaviour among others. Improving the efficiency of the entire engineering set up to enhance higher reliability and availability of aircraft is another area which needs the focus and attention, he said adding “it is absolutely paramount to ensure very high levels of on-time performance.” “While the target will always be to achieve 100 percent OTP, at this initial stage we should guarantee at least 90 percent,” he said. Observing that all in the management have to take care of the employees, the Air India chief said that management has to take proactive steps to ensure that staff grievances are resolved in proper manner. Besides, higher emphasis has to be laid on maintaining highest standards of integrity in the airline’s workforce, he said adding, “the organisation will always maintain zero intolerance to indiscipline.” Pointing out that Air India was going through a grave crisis at this critical juncture, he said this was not the time to seek and serve “petty” personal interests but a time for all to give in their best to the company. PTI