Air India sale may be a non-starter as top contenders drop out

Mumbai: Barely a fortnight after the government released the expression of interest (EoI) document for Air India privatisation, uncertainty looms over the sale with most of the major contenders dropping out of the race citing the existing terms and conditions.

In rapid succession, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd that runs IndiGo, Jet Airways (India) Ltd and the Tata Group stepped out of the race and on Wednesday major Gulf carriers Emirates and Qatar Airways PJSC too shied away.

While an Emirates spokesperson told Mint in a email that “Emirates has no plans to buy or acquire any airline”, Qatar Airways said it “firmly deny that it is involved in any talks regarding the acquisition of Air India”.