Air India CEO Campbell Wilson quits, to stay till successor is named: Report

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson has resigned from his post, news agency ANI reported, citing sources. The move comes as the airline continues to reel from the devastating fallout of the June 12, 2025, Flight AI 171 crash. The disaster, which saw a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plunging into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff, claimed 260 lives and remains the deadliest aviation accident in recent history.

While Wilson's contract was slated to run until 2027, the board accepted his resignation last week following his request to step down a year early. The search for a successor had begun in January, after Wilson expressed his wish not to continue beyond his contract period, Hindustan Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The leadership transition occurs at a moment of extreme vulnerability for the Tata Group-owned carrier. Beyond the immense legal and reputational damage from the AI 171 tragedy, the airline is grappling with a projected record loss of over Rs 20,000 crore for FY2026. These financial woes have been exacerbated by the West Asia crisis, which has forced expensive flight diversions around closed airspace, significantly driving up operational costs.

Wilson is expected to remain in his role until September 2026 to facilitate a smooth handover, with the final crash investigation report for Flight AI 171 due to be released just months earlier in June.

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The development comes months after the CEO of India's biggest carrier, IndiGo, followed by Air India, resigned in a dual leadership shake-up that has transformed the country's aviation landscape.

Pieter Elbers, who led IndiGo to a dominant 63.6% market share, stepped down with immediate effect on March 10, 2026, following a severe operational meltdown in late 2025. His exit paved the way for co-founder Rahul Bhatia to take interim charge before the appointment of William Walsh.