Indian aviation has been suffering a lot under the imposed lockdown. It is one of the most negatively affected sectors in the economy. The sad thing is that there is no clarity on the removal of flight restrictions. If the lockdown were to extend, there would be a lot more issues for the grounded airlines. The only airline which will be able to stay afloat comfortably during this time is IndiGo as they reported a cash balance of Rs 5,900 crore at the end of 2019. No other airline has the same amount of cash or resources as IndiGo. The government needs to bring a bailout package soon for the industry to keep the airlines from going bankrupt.
India Will Only Remove Flight Restrictions Once The Situation Calms Down
The fight with the coronavirus outbreak is a difficult one but not something that can’t be won over. It will take some time though, and till then there is no way flight restrictions are going to be removed. The Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri said that the government of India would only remove flight restrictions once the situation calms down. No commercial airline activity is allowed during the time of the lockdown. For now, the airlines are allowed to take flight bookings, but if the lockdown is extended, they will be cancelled as well.
Hardeep Singh Puri Empathise With The Negatively Affected
There are airlines and then families of people who are affected due to the ban on airline activities. Hardeep Singh Puri sent out a tweet empathising these people and airlines. As of now, only freighters are allowed to take off, which are carrying essential items. SpiceJet took its freighter operations to a whole different level with using passenger seats to move essential items. Hardeep Singh Puri also thanked everyone for their cooperation and stated that together people of India would get out of this situation stronger.
