“The airline industry in India is under extreme stress and on the verge of closing down or of stopping its operations,” the Federation of Indian Airlines, representing carriers including IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet, said in a letter to India’s Civil Aviation Ministry, seen by Bloomberg.

They sought a return to Covid-19 era cost caps on aviation turbine fuel and a reduction or deferment in taxes.

The federation and the ministry did not immediately respond to queries sent after usual business hours.

Speculation is mounting that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration will raise fuel prices once voting in state elections ends April 29.

While the government at a briefing on April 28 denied any plan to raise petrol prices, it declined to answer a similar question on aviation turbine fuel.

India in early April had rolled back a steep hike in jet-fuel prices for local flights within hours of pushing them to a record.

Even so, carriers pay substantially more for fuel in the country than in Thailand, Dubai, Malaysia or Singapore because of high local taxes. 

Although Indian refiners produce more jet fuel than the country consumes, prices are still set on import-parity basis – as if fuel had been shipped in from the Arabian Gulf, complete with notional freight charges, insurance and customs levies.

As the third-largest oil consumer, India is among the countries most impacted by the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow Gulf choke point through which a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil passes.

Any “irrational increase in the price of ATF will result in unsurmountable losses for airline and will lead to grounding of aircraft resulting in cancellation of flights”, according to the FIA letter dated April 26.

The appeal underscores the sector’s sensitivity to fuel price volatility, which can quickly erode already thin margins.

Fuel accounts for as much as 40 per cent of an airline’s operating expenses, meaning even modest increases can significantly affect profitability and ticket pricing.

Airlines are also grappling with a weakening rupee, which inflates dollar-denominated costs such as aircraft leases and overseas airport charges.

The government has responded with temporary relief measures, including a 25 per cent cap on monthly jet fuel price increases and a three-month reduction in landing and parking fees, and is considering loans backed by sovereign guarantees. BLOOMBERG

Credits: India Airlines

The post India airlines warn of flight suspensions as war drives up fuel cost first appeared on AircrewNews.com.

At a ceremony attended by DRC officials and Ethiopian executives, Group CEO Mesfin Tasew highlighted the milestone as proof of the airline’s commitment to the DRC and Africa as a whole, pledging to further expand services in the country.

Ethiopian currently operates 32 weekly passenger flights to Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, and Goma, alongside dedicated cargo services. The airline emphasizes its role as a pan-African connector, running the continent’s largest network and linking African cities more closely to the world.

Credits: Ethiopian Airlines

The post Ethiopian Airlines marks 50 years of service to Kinshasa, DRC first appeared on AircrewNews.com.