Hardeep Puri cites potential hit on airlines' finances if Vande Bharat flights were free

Offering tickets free of cost on flights under the Vande Bharat mission would have further affected the finances of Indian airlines including Air India, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday. The finances of airlines have been hugely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Puri said, "The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the entire global civil aviation sector. In view of stoppage/restrictions in both domestic/international flights, Air India and other Indian carriers are also in a financially distressed condition... If tickets would have been offered free of cost, it would have further affected the finances and viability of Air India and other Indian carriers."

Amid the lockdown, the Modi government had started the Vande Bharat mission on May 6 to repatriate stranded Indians from abroad through special international flights. Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23.

Between May 6 and August 31, a total of 5,817 inbound flights ferrying more than 11 lakh Indians have been operated under the Vande Bharat mission from various countries, the Minister informed. Out of these, 2,292 flights have been operated by Air India Group and 1,938 flights by private Indian carriers while the remaining have been operated by foreign carriers. 

Hardeep Singh Puri also stated that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has not incurred any expenditure on the Vande Bharat Mission till date and the passengers paid for their travel themselves. On the other hand, Air India and Air India Express earned Rs 2,021 crore and Rs 415 crore respectively from Vande Bharat flights up to August 31.

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COVID impact on airline sector

On Thursday, Hardeep Singh Puri revealed that the revenue of Indian carriers reduced to Rs 3,651 crore in April-June 2020 in comparison to Rs 25,517 crore in the same period last year. Explaining the impact of COVID-19 on the aviation sector in response to numerous unstarred questions, he noted that Air India's revenue had reduced from Rs.7,066 crore in April-June 2019 to Rs.1,531 crore during April-June 2020.

Observing that the Airports Authority of India was likely to register a loss in the Financial Year 2020-21, Puri stated that it had taken the Fund Based Working Facility of Rs.1,500 crore from the State Bank of India.

The employment at airlines, airports, ground handling agencies and cargo operators has reduced by 5,298, 3,246, 8,466, and 1,017 respectively from March 31-July 31. Mentioning that restrictions on international airlines continue, the Civil Aviation Minister reiterated that India has entered into Air Bubble agreements with USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Maldives, UAE, Qatar, Afghanistan, and Bahrain. According to him, the Centre had taken several steps to help the aviation sector such as route rationalization and reduction in GST rate for domestic Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services.

(PTI Photo)

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