Thiruvananthapuram, April 30 :

The formalities of the merger between Air India and Indian will take nearly two years to be completed, says V Thulasidas, chairperson and managing director of Air India here.

“The legal issues would be completed in June but the actual integration of fleet, networking and employees could take at least two years,” Thulasidas told reporters here Sunday night. He stressed that “there would be no retrenchment of employees” when the merger took place.

Asked about reports of him being the managing director of the new company, he said, “I too read it in newspapers, but I have no knowledge about it.” Thulasidas, who was speaking

at the two-year celebration of Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India,

said the airline had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Air Force to employ pilots retiring from the force.

He added, “We faced a shortage of pilots, specially to operate the Boeing 737-800 aircraft. This has been solved by fresh recruitment from Serbia and Brazil. We are also ready to begin campus recruitment from flying schools across the country.”

He said construction of the proposed hangar unit in the state capital was underway and would be complete in over a year.