Air India clears the air on Israeli reports that claimed it is going bust

Reports appearing in some Israeli media outlets had said that Air India is trapped in huge amounts of debt and is on the verge of a collapse

New Delhi: After reports in certain sections of the media in Israel reported that national carrier Air India is on the verge of bankruptcy, the airline has come out and rubbished the rumours as "baseless" in order to assure the growing number of Israelis using Air India flights to Delhi.

What did Israeli media say?

Reports appearing in some Israeli media outlets had said that Air India is trapped in huge amounts of debt and is on the verge of collapse. They also advised Israeli passengers, who had booked their tickets with the airline, to take necessary steps to recover the money.

How did Air India respond?

"Air India (AI) strongly refutes the canards being spread by a section of the media in Israel and a few web/online portals about the airline being on the verge of collapse. This is totally baseless, false and hatched to malign the image of the organisation and thwart its rising graph by vested interest," a statement issued by Air India's Tel Aviv office said.

"We would like to clear the air that, contrary to these speculation, Air India is growing from strength to strength and has, in fact, been standing by passengers in distress left stranded by airlines abruptly shutting down," it said.

"It is requested that any such attempt to create confusion and tarnish the credibility of Air India be rejected outright," the statement added.

Airline issues fake news alert, says more flights to ply on Tel Aviv-Delhi route

While dismissing reports, Air India country manager Pankaj Tiwari said, "it is a fake news alert, and in fact, Air India is considering further increasing the number of flights on the Tel Aviv-Delhi route."

Air India's Tel Aviv-Delhi air route was a major diplomatic breakthrough because the route passed through Saudi and Omani airspace and Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and Oman. The flights on the route have registered an impressive growth with average seat occupancy around 80 percent.