Emirates to operate repatriation flights from 4 additional Indian cities to Dubai till July 26
New Delhi: The Emirates airlines on Sunday said it will operate repatriation flights from four additional Indian cities of Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata to Dubai till July 26.
The Dubai-based airline had on July 11 announced that it would be operating special repatriation flights from Bengaluru, Kochi, Delhi, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) between July 12 and July 26.
The airline will now be operating repatriation flights to Dubai from a total of nine Indian cities till July 26.
In a press release on Sunday, the airline clarified that the repatriation flights between Kochi, Delhi, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, and Dubai are permitted to carry eligible passengers on both the directions.
However, the flights from Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata to Dubai "will carry passengers only outbound from India", the airline said.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation had on July 9 said that India and the UAE have come to a bilateral arrangement - also called air bubble - under which airlines of both the countries will operate international flights carrying eligible passengers.
Charter flights operated by UAE carriers would now be permitted to bring Indian citizens from the UAE to India and carry "ICA-approved UAE residents" on their return leg, the ministry had said.
The ICA stands for the UAE''s Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship.
On India to UAE journeys, all these flights will carry only those passengers who are destined for the Gulf country, it noted.
India resumed its domestic passenger flights from May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.
While scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in the country since March 23, India has established bilateral air bubbles with four countries -- the US, the UAE, France, and Germany -- in which airlines of both the countries are permitted to operate international passenger flights with certain restrictions.
More than 10 lakh people have been infected and around 26,000 people have so far died due to coronavirus in India.
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AI, IndiGo, SpiceJet seek ATF price relief; say airline industry on verge of 'stopping operations'
Mumbai (PTI): Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet have told the government that the country's airline industry is under extreme stress and on the verge of "stopping operations", as they sought revision in ATF pricing and financial support.
The West Asia turmoil has pushed up oil prices, and airspace restrictions have increased airlines' operating costs, especially on long-haul routes. Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) accounts for around 40 per cent of a carrier's operational expenses.
Against this backdrop, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has written to the civil aviation ministry, seeking steps to extend the same fuel pricing mechanism uniformly across both domestic and international operations as was done in the past with the establishment of the crack band.
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With an unprecedented rise in jet fuel prices and exorbitant crack/differential between crude and ATF, the federation said the operation of airlines is being challenged in totality.
"... any ad hoc pricing (domestic vs international) and/or irrational increase in the price of ATF will result in unsurmountable losses for airlines and will lead to grounding of aircraft, resulting in cancellation of flights," the federation, which represents Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, said.
"In order to survive, sustain and continue operation, we request your urgent intervention for immediate and meaningful financial support to tide over the current situation," it said in a letter on April 26.
Also, the airlines have sought temporary deferment of excise duty on ATF, which is at 11 per cent.
"With the abnormal increase in ATF prices from the pre-crisis period, adding rupee depreciation to the increased prices, the 11 per cent excise duty also increases manifold for the airlines and adds to the ATF price as a big impact on airlines," they said.
Last month, the government limited the hike in ATF price to Rs 15 per litre for domestic operations, but for international operations, the price rose by Rs 73 per litre.
The airlines said the situation has practically made international operations, along with domestic operations, completely unviable and resulted in significant losses for the aviation sector in April.
Seeking urgent intervention on the current ATF ad hoc pricing, FIA said the current situation is creating a severe imbalance in domestic and international operations and rendering airline networks unviable and unsustainable.
"The airline industry in India is under extreme stress and is on the verge of closing down or of stopping its operations."
The federation has pitched for a transparent pricing framework under the crack band mechanism (USD 12–22/BBL) that was implemented in October 2022, saying there was a fair and reasonable margin for Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
According to FIA, the country's largest aviation hub Delhi has the second-highest value-added tax (VAT) of 25 per cent on jet fuel, while the highest rate is 29 per cent levied in Tamil Nadu.
"The other major aviation cities, viz. Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Kolkata range between 16 per cent and 20 per cent. These 6 cities cover more than 50 per cent of airlines' operations within India," the federation said.
