Ilker Ayci turns down Tata Sons’ offer to be new Air India CEO

Former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Turkish Airlines Ilker Ayci has rejected Air India’s CEO offer. In a statement, Ayic said his appointment was ‘coloured’ by the Indian media, citing it as the reason to opt out.

“I have come to the conclusion that it would not be a feasible or an honourable decision to accept the position in the shadow of such a narrative,” Ayci said in the release. He was seen as close to Turkish president Racep Tayyip Erdogan, a Pakistan ally. Erdogan had referred to the issue of Kashmir in his address to world leaders at the UN General Assembly session late last year.