Since the Tata takeover, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation has repeatedly fined Air India over safety and other regulatory violations, including an Rs8mn ($95,000) penalty last year for exceeding flight duty time limits. At home, it is competing in a near-duopoly with IndiGo, which has been boosting its international long-haul routes.

Management installed by the Tata Group had spent three years struggling to undo a reputation for shoddy operations earned during decades of state ownership.

The airline must hold open investigation into the accident to regain customer trust amid efforts to overhaul the company to spur growth, analysts say Air India's crash of a Boeing 787 jet that killed more than 200 people will be a huge setback to the former state-run carrier's comeback plans after a change in its ownership to the Tata Group three