Due to the war in the Middle East, Indian airlines are incurring losses worth crores of rupees every day. In such a situation, if the situation does not improve soon, fares will increase further and connectivity will also reduce. The benchmark price of jet fuel in Singapore has jumped 72 percent to $225.44 per barrel, which is a record high.
The common man is also not far away from this because the cost of ATF is about 40 percent of a normal air fare, which means if oil becomes expensive, ticket prices will automatically increase. Due to this, officials of Air India, IndiGo and other airlines met Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu and requested for relief from the government.
350 flights canceled in a single day
Minister Naidu also had a meeting with airline executives on March 7, in which it was clearly said that if the war in West Asia continues for a long time, Indian airlines will suffer huge losses. From March 1, the price of ATF in Delhi has become ₹ 96,638 per kilolitre, which is ₹ 5,215 more than the previous rate. There has also been a huge jump in the premium of war-risk insurance.
According to an estimate, airlines are incurring additional expenses of some Rs 30-40 lakh per flight for narrow-body aircraft and up to ₹ 90 lakh for wide-body on routes like Delhi-Dubai-Delhi. On March 1, 350 flights were canceled in a single day. This was the biggest single-day disruption after Covid. IndiGo has canceled more than 500 flights between 28 February and 3 March alone.
Loss of ₹150-200 crore daily
Industry experts say that overall the airlines are incurring a loss of ₹150-200 crore per day. There are passengers in the flights coming to India from Gulf countries, but the flights going from India to Gulf are almost empty because people are coming back and no one is leaving. Airlines are suffering double loss due to this.
Due to closure of air space in Iran and West Asia, flights on India-Europe and India-North America routes are taking longer routes. IndiGo’s Amsterdam, London and Manchester flights are affected. Air India is flying alternate routes to Europe and North America but if this continues for a long time, it will not be economically viable.
Made this demand from the government
Airlines have demanded reduction in excise duty on ATF, relief in AAI fees and regulatory support from the government. The government has not yet announced any direct financial package, but has assured to consider support measures if jet fuel prices increase further. ICRA has already estimated a loss of ₹17,000-18,000 crore for the Indian aviation sector in FY26.
read this also
JD Vance and Marco Rubio were not in favor of war with Iran, had alerted Donald Trump, big revelation in the report
