New Delhi: As the airlines have cancelled a significant number of International and Domestic flights amid COVID-19 outbreak, aviation expert Sanat Kaul on Thursday said that the government should come up with a relief package for the airlines so that it can function efficiently.
Speaking exclusively to ETV Bharat, aviation expert Sanat Kaul expressed, "Out of around 600 odd aircraft it is now being talked about that nearly 20 per cent of the fleets will have to be grounded because the passengers are not there and tourism is down very badly which shows that COVID-19 is having a major impact on the airline sector."
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Reacting to IndiGo's announcement that it will cut salaries of its employees as the survival of airline is at the stake, he further said that Airlines are running out of cash and supposedly 1.5-2 billion dollars worth of government relief package is being planned, this will help airlines in getting over the immediate cash crunch.
Sanat Kaul further added, "Aviation Turbine Fuel should be brought under the GST framework but in a reasonable rate of 12 % or less than that. Moreover, it is a very serious condition for aviation sector in India and government should come to help the airline sector which sees the double digit growth every year. "