Ashwani Lohani appointed Air India CMD for second time

New Delhi, February 13

Former Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani has been appointed chairman and managing director (CMD) of Air India, according to an order issued by the government on Wednesday.

This will be Lohani's second tenure as Air India chief. His appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Wednesday, sources said.

Lohani, who has been nickenamed the "turnaround man" for his skills at successfully steering loss-making enterprises, first took over the reins of Air India in August 2015. In August 2017, after a series of train derailments led to severe backlash on the Indian Railways and led to a series of resignations—including then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and chairman of Railway Board AK Mittal—Lohani took over as chairman of the board. He retired in December 2018.

Lohani, who holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering, was also ITDC chairman as well as the director of the Rail Museum in the capital. Agencies