The tragic crash of Air India Flight 171 in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, has rightfully shaken people across the country.
In the wake of the tragedy, the Tata group and Air India Chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, as per reports, urged the employees of Air India to stay strong. Chandrasekaran told employees to look at the Ahmedabad crash as “an act of force to build a safer airline.”
Chandrasekaran shared his thoughts with about 700 Air India employees and the company’s leadership team at the company headquarters and its training academy in Gurugram. With the official investigation into the crash still going on, Chandrasekaran asked the employees to “stay the course” and not put their “shoulders down” in the face of criticism.
“Criticisms are there, and those of us who are very passionate… who are working on making this airline a great airline, and who genuinely care about what kind of a company we want to build, but it’s not easy to face criticisms. I want you to be strong. If you feel distraught, the word you should remember is determination. We are going to get through this. We need to show resilience. We need to use this incident as an act of force to build a safer airline,” Chandrasekaran apparently told the employees.
During his address, Chandrasekaran deemed the Ahmedabad crash as the “most heartbreaking crisis” of his career. With the death of 241 out of 242 people on board the tragic flight, the company’s leader is rightfully mournful. However, he remains firm on staying strong, guiding his employees through these turbulent times.
“It’s a very complex business…it’s a complex machine, so a lot of redundancies, checks and balances, certifications, which have been perfected over years and years. Yet this happens, so we will figure out why it happens after the investigation,” Chandrasekaran seemingly shared. “So we just have to stay calm and not put our shoulders down. This is the time to be brave, time to be resolute, time to know that you have the full support.”
“Big things get done by small actions. Every small action that you do and is executed perfectly helps the collective thing flourish. That’s why we continue to focus on doing each of our jobs and with all humility. That’s what should be our goal. Just stay the course,” Chandrasekaran added as per sources.