Air India has appointed former Ethiopian Airlines Group chief Tewolde Gebremariam as its new chief executive officer and managing director.
Tewolde’s appointment comes only weeks after reports from Pakistan said he had been selected or shortlisted to become chief executive of Pakistan International Airlines(PIA).
Tewolde described the current appointment as “a profound honour” and said he would focus on operational reliability, customer service and sustainable growth.
N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons and Air India, said Tewolde’s experience building and managing a large and profitable airline group made him well suited to lead Air India through the next stage of its transformation.
Tewolde joins Air India as the carrier continues to face financial losses, operational disruption and heightened regulatory and safety scrutiny following the crash of Flight AI171 in Ahmedabad in June 2025, which killed 260 people.
Tewolde spent more than 37 years at Ethiopian Airlines and served as group chief executive from 2011 to 2022.













