CAPA India recommends Indian Government implement relief measures for airlines

CAPA India recommended (25-Mar-2020) India's Government implement the following three phase measures to support airlines and "minimise long term damage to the aviation sector" stemming from the impact of coronavirus:

• Phase One-Emergency relief: Cash infusion to enable partial payment of salaries for personnel for three to six months, with the aim of avoiding redundancies;
• Phase Two-Survival relief: Three to six month moratorium on outstanding payments for airport charges, aviation turbine fuel (ATF), GST and other tax payments, and reschedule interest and principal payments on working capital loans;
• Phase Three-Set up for recovery: Include ATF in GST framework, three to six month waiver on airport charges when services resume, ensure lines of credit available to airlines on attractive terms and, depending on the severity of the impact, consider direct cash injection in the form of government grants, including to private airlines.

CAPA India stated "Air India and private airlines should be treated equally" with regard to these support measures "with no picking of winners or preferential benefits for the national carrier". [more - original PR]