Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia urged states and Union Territories to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) or jet fuel as it will help in the revival of aviation traffic and the industry, which was battered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The civil aviation sector is gradually recoverring from the pandemic and air traffic is nearing pre-COVID levels now. Worth mentioning here is that ATF account for nearly 40% of the operational costs of an Airline.
Addressing the conference of the ministers of civil aviation from states and UTs in Delhi, he stressed the cooperation and support of all stakeholders for strengthening the civil aviation sector.
Due to rising international crude prices, AFT prices have more than doubled in the last one year.
Scindia also thanked various states that have drastically cut the rates, saying that they have gained larger air traffic movement within a short period of the reduction.
On Thursday, the civil aviation minister said that seven states have slashed their VAT on the fuel, and he was expecting more states to follow suit.
With the current tax structure on ATF, “you cannot have a robust civil aviation sector. I am very clear on that,” he had said.
The sector has a large cost-benefit ratio and also huge employment potential, he said on Friday, and asked states and UTs to facilitate new airports by swiftly handling the land allotment issues.
Officials at the civil aviation ministry on Thursday said the sector has almost reached the pre-COVID level in terms of traffic and will continue to grow further.
In October, domestic air passenger volume jumped 70.46 per cent to 89.85 lakh compared to the year-ago period.
On Friday, the minister also said that the number of airports will be more than 200 by 2023-24 and also emphasised setting up at least one heliport in each district in collaboration with states/UTs.
About seaplanes, Scindia said states should provide capital support for the initiative, as per the release.
A booklet ‘Access: The Photo Digest-Demystifying accessibility in Civil Aviation’ was released at the conference, with the aim of creating awareness about accessibility needs and corresponding travel-related facilities for divyangjans.
