Airlines see no profit in green zones

The Central government’s idea to allow airlines to fly passengers only between green zones in the first phase is not something aviation firms want after being out of operations for over one-and-a-half months.

Two senior aviation executives, who preferred anonymity, said the move will not bring much relief to the sector, and that some airlines may even decide to stay put till the services are operational between major airports.India is considering allowing some domestic flights to resume on May 18 or earlier.

“Like railways, the government should allow airlines to carry passengers between big cities to other parts of the country. It would be less chaotic for the industry to start operations on a pan-India level as most of the infrastructure, manpower and aircraft are located within top airports,” said the first executive.

Six airports in India — Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad — account for two-third of the total domestic traffic. It is in these routes where price surge on air tickets are most common, giving airlines a chance to increase their earnings.

“Allowing airlines to operate at limited capacity between metro cities will be a welcome move in the first phase of opening up. The need of the hour is to give airlines a chance to improve their earnings at the earliest, and not force them to fly between unprofitable routes,” the second executive said.

He added that suspending domestic flights, mainly between top cities, till the end of this month would be catastrophic for the sector. “Some airlines may decide to remain grounded if they feel that flying between green zones is not profitable,” he said.

Airlines in India have slashed salaries and send employees on leave without pay as they try to weather the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the aviation sector.

Aviation sector to lose Rs 24-25K cr
Rating agency CRISIL had last week said aviation sector is staring at a revenue loss of Rs 24,000-25,000 crore in the ongoing fiscal as passenger flights remain suspended at least till May 17.

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