Campbell Wilson's exit from Air India was discussed for months: Reports

January 27, 2026, marks the completion of four years since the Tata Group acquired Air India, and the stage is set for a top shake-up. Tata Group is looking to replace CEO Campbell Wilson, well before his tenure ends in 2027, according to Economic Times.

Murmurs around the removal of 53-year-old Wilson started way back in April 2025, when he stepped down as Chairman of Air India Express—the airlines’ low-cost arm. He was replaced by Air India’s Chief Commercial Officer, Nipun Aggarwal to facilitate better synergy and coordination between the two airlines’ network and commercial efforts.

Air India denied commenting on the report.

According to industry players, Wilson's stepping aside from Air India Express was a clear signal of what was coming, but it was a matter of time, as if he would complete his five-year tenure in 2027.

After joining Air India, Wilson announced a complete transformation for the carrier called “Vihaan.AI”, which in Sanskrit signifies the dawn of a new era, with identified objectives for Air India over the next 5 years. The strategy included the merger of Air India with Vistara, which was completed in November 2024 and Air India Express with AIX Connect (formerly Air Asia).

“Nipun Aggarwal's appointment as CEO of Air India Express halfway through the transformation plan was a clear signal that something was not working well for Wilson,” said an industry player.

Delays

Wilson has been vocal about delays in Air India transformation, owing to supply chain challenges and huge backlog in aircraft deliveries.

"Well, our operating fleet is going to be pretty flat this year (FY26), in part because of delays to delivery, but also because we're taking aircraft out of service to do the refit, the Boeing B787s and the B777s in particular. And so, it means that we're actually not able to grow. But it's an investment for a good purpose," Wilson said last year.

Air India has a pending order of around 470 aircrafts and Wilson recently said that the airline can do any capacity addition by the end of 2026.

The crash of Air India flight on June 12, 2025, killing 260 people, has come as a setback to the airline, as there were regulatory checks imposed. This also slowed down the expansion of the airline. The airline has been grappling with challenges related to maintenance of aircrafts with several notices being issued and complaints from passengers over poor customer service and on-time performance.

Not the first Choice

The ET report said that Group chairman N. Chandrasekaran has spoken with the chief executives of at least two large airlines based in the UK and the US.

Wilson, known for his soft-spoken demeanour, was never the first choice of the Tata Group as it acquired the airline from the government in Jan, 2022. Soon after, IIker Ayci, who was then the Chairman of Turkish Airlines, was named as the CEO and MD of Air India by Tata Sons. But Ayci turned down the offer following opposition over his previous political links in Turkey.

In May 2022, Tata Sons announced the appointment of Wilson, with nearly three decades of industry expertise across both full-service and low-cost airlines, to lead Air India. He was heading the Scoot, the wholly owned low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines (SIA).