As Air India faces mounting scrutiny following a recent aircraft mishap, CEO Campbell Wilson has called on employees to embrace reflection, reform and resilience — not merely to weather the current crisis but to emerge stronger and safer.In a letter to staff, Wilson acknowledged the intense spotlight that follows any aviation incident, noting that while some criticism may be exaggerated or misinformed, much of it carries valuable lessons.“Sometimes the extra attention means that normal issues get misinterpreted or sensationalised, but sometimes the scrutiny highlights genuine areas for improvement,” he wrote. “We must take all commentary constructively, with grace and an open mind — and where there is an opportunity to act, we must do so.”Wilson reiterated that continuous improvement is the bedrock of aviation safety and must be embraced across all levels of the organisation — from senior leadership to frontline staff.Underscoring a need for a culture grounded in transparency, integrity and accountability, Wilson outlined several reform initiatives undertaken in recent years: the strengthening of standard operating procedures (SOPs), enhanced training, strict compliance enforcement through structured processes and the rollout of performance management systems.A key shift, he said, has been the transition from paper-based to digital reporting platforms, enabling greater data accuracy, accessibility and quicker decision-making.“We have worked to make safety reporting easier, more encouraged, and better protected,” Wilson said. He added that the airline had embraced progressive safety philosophies, such as those advocated by Baines Simmons, to foster organisational learning over punitive action.Despite the systems in place, Wilson emphasised that meaningful progress depends on human behaviour.“People doing the right thing, all the time — not just when someone else is watching,” he said, adding that this principle is deeply embedded in the Tata Code of Conduct. Employees have been encouraged to reaffirm their commitment to ethical conduct this week by taking the Ethics Pledge, ahead of the group’s annual Ethics Week observed on July 29 — JRD Tata’s birth anniversary.Providing a safety update, Wilson confirmed that fuel switch inspections across the Boeing 737 fleet had been completed, with no anomalies found — mirroring earlier results from Dreamliner (B787) checks. The airline had scaled back its flight schedule to enable these checks and associated reliability enhancements.Partial restoration of services is scheduled to begin from August 1, with full operations expected to resume by October 1.Despite the turbulence, Wilson pointed to encouraging signs from customers. Over one lakh passengers participated in Air India’s post-flight surveys in July, delivering a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +34 — the highest in the airline’s history.
Embrace reforms: AI CEO to staff
