The Government has no proposal to provide incentives to private airlines incurring losses in operating fights. Civil Aviation minister Ajit Singh told the the Rajya Sabha today that an inter- ministerial Working Group has suggested steps to address the problem.

These include rationalization of value added tax, VAT, on aviation turbine fuel, ATF, permission to foreign airlines to invest in the domestic airlines undertakings, allowing airlines to import ATF directly for their own consumption and revision of fare structure by airlines so that costs of operations are covered.

Singh said the airlines except INDIGO have lost about nineteen thousand crore rupees during the period from 2008-2011. He said the ministry expects a loss of about ten thousand crore rupees during 2011-12 .