Tewolde Gebremariam
Air India has named Tewolde Gebremariam, who was formerly CEO of Ethiopian Airlines for 11 years, as its next CEO.
Gebremariam will succeed Campbell Wilson at Air India, who announced his resignation in April. Gebremariam led Ethiopian Airlines from 2011 to 2022 as part of his 36 years with the African carrier, according to his LinkedIn profile.
During his time at Ethiopian Airlines, Gebremariam “spearheaded a multi-billion-dollar expansion, transforming a regional carrier into Africa's largest, most profitable, and decorated airline group,” according to an Air India statement.
Gebremariam said: “Air India carries an incredible legacy, and the opportunity to build a world-class global airline that reflects India’s extraordinary economic potential is uniquely exciting.”
Air India added that details of the “exact onboarding timeline and transition schedule” for Gebremariam to take over would be “shared in due course”.
The appointment comes just days after Willie Walsh took over as CEO of Air India’s key rival IndiGo. Walsh, who was formerly CEO of British Airways’ parent company IAG, left his previous post as director general of IATA (International Air Transport Association) at the end of July.
“With India becoming one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets, the opportunities ahead for IndiGo are immense. There could not be a more exciting and opportune time for me to join IndiGo than now,” said Walsh as he took up his new role at IndiGo.
Walsh takes over from IndiGo’s former CEO Pieter Elbers who resigned in March after the airline suffered an operational breakdown in December 2026 resulting more than 3,000 flight cancellations.
The change in management at IndiGo comes as the airline is ending its agreement with Norse Atlantic Airlines from 31 October to lease six Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which it has been using for its long-haul operations.
IndiGo said the termination of this deal was “due to the challenging operating environment triggered by the ongoing geopolitical tensions”. It means the temporary end of IndiGo's wide-body aircraft operations from 25 October.
The airline added that it plans to use narrow-body Airbus A321XLR aircraft on its Amsterdam Schiphol-Mumbai route from 25 October.
All IndiGo flights from London Heathrow Airport to Mumbai and Delhi, which started in October 2025, will be “temporarily discontinued” until IndiGo receives its new Airbus A350 aircraft, which are due to start being delivered in 2027.
The airline had already announced that it was suspending its flights from Manchester to Mumbai and Delhi from 31 August, as part of its initial return of one aircraft to Norse Atlantic.