A group of Air India employees has been ruled out of a bidding process to take control of the loss-making national carrier, as the government moves ahead with its years-long attempt to offload the airline. “I write to you with a heavy heart on the outcome of our bid to acquire Air India,” the airline’s commercial director Meenakshi Malik wrote in a letter to employees dated March 8. “We have been unsuccessful in qualifying to the next phase of the ‘Disinvestment Acquisition process.’” Citing a letter from Ernst & Young, which is advising the government on the sale, Malik said the group didn’t meet eligibility requirements. They include submitting three years of audited financial statements for foreign consortium members and being an appropriately regulated foreign investment fund. The group of employees partnered with a Seychelles-based fund for the bid. Tata Sons Ltd. is among the remaining bidders. SpiceJet Ltd. promoter Ajay Singh and two other investors have also shown an interest in acquiring Air India, the Economic Times reported last month. <br/>
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Wellness firm XpresSpa Group and United Airlines have opened an XpresCheck testing facility at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport . Located in United’s Terminal E post-security, this pop-up facility features four separate rooms and capacity for more than 300 tests a day. Covid-19 testing options include the rapid molecular test and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. United’s Houston hub vice-president Rodney Cox said: “Offering accessible and dependable testing solutions provides peace of mind to travellers and facilitates a safer in-flight experience. This new XpresCheck location will also help ensure our customers travelling through Houston meet the entry requirements at their final destination.”<br/>