Covid-19 crisis: Indian airlines hold on to Rs 6,000 crore to avoid hard landing


aviationIndia’s airline companies are estimated to be holding about ₹6,000 crore from payment for bookings made before all travel was suspended to curb the spread of Covid-19, according to aviation consultants and senior industry executives.

These funds, along with some short-term loans, are helping airlines stay afloat, they said. IndiGo is the exception — it has more free cash than almost all its rivals combined (₹ 9,000 crore at the end of December).

Carriers have allowed customers to cancel tickets without penalties but they’ve been offered credit vouchers rather than cash refunds, said the people cited above.

The ongoing three-week lockdown is to end on April 14 but there’s no clarity on when flights will resume, given that many states want the shutdown to be extended.

Kerala, for instance, is considering a plan to suspend all flights until the end of May, except for emergency travel.

All domestic flights were halted from midnight on March 24, with overseas services having been suspended before that.


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