New Delhi, January 13: Employees of the ground handling arm of debt-ridden Air India, AIATSL, are likely to get their salaries by next week, an official notification said. A staff notice issued by Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL) on Monday said, "We regret to inform the delay in payment of salaries for the month of December 2019 due to circumstances beyond the control of management."

"However, all efforts are being made to make the payment at the earliest or by next week," it added. Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani had on January 4 said that "rumours" of the disinvestment-bound airline's shutdown are "all baseless". Air India Stop Issuing Air Tickets to Government Agencies on Credit Basis Due to Non-Payment of Dues.

His remarks came weeks after he told the Civil Aviation Ministry that the carrier's financial situation was "grossly untenable" for sustaining operations.

While Air India's net loss in 2018-19 was around Rs 8,556 crore, its current total debt is around Rs 80,000 crore.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)