India plans relief package for spiralling airline industry
Two of the biggest and oldest carriers, Jet Airways and state-owned Air India, are struggling to stem losses amid cut-throat domestic competition
New Delhi — India said on Tuesday it was working on a relief package for its airline industry, which is forecast to lose up to $1.9bn this financial year due to rising costs and low fares. Two of the biggest and oldest carriers, Jet Airways and state-owned Air India, are struggling to stem losses in the world’s fastest-growing domestic aviation market, where competition is intense and fuel taxes are high. Rajiv Nayan Choubey, the top civil aviation bureaucrat, said that help to cut airline costs was on the way along with a planned $120m capital injection for Air India, according to Reuters affiliate NewsRise. Choubey, who was speaking on the sidelines of the International Aviation Summit in New Delhi, did not give details of the planned relief package for the industry. As well as high fuel taxes, Indian airlines are hit by a goods and services tax on maintenance operations that makes domestic work uncompetitive, consulting firm CAPA India said in a report on Monday. It forecast an i...
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