Tribune News Servce
New Delhi, October 18
Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said there was a huge demand for air travel after the pandemic and urged eight states and union territories to reduce the high tax on jet fuel.
Air traffic growth will be driven by smaller cities, he said and emphasised the need for developing airport infrastructure in such places.
The minister was speaking at the Civil Aviation Ministers’ conference in the Capital. The domestic air traffic is inching closer to pre-Covid level and in recent times, the daily passenger numbers crossed the four lakh mark twice.
Scindia said value added tax (VAT) on jet fuel was still high in eight states and UTs in the range of 20-30 per cent and urged them to reduce the rate.
Jet fuel cost accounts for a significant part of an airline’s operational costs.
The minister requested Goa, Assam, Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Bihar and Tamil Nadu to reduce the VAT on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF). “New growth to come from Tier 2 and 3 cities,” he said and emphasised the need to bring down entry barriers in the context of high VAT on jet fuel in some states.
(This story has not been checked by JK Mega and is auto-generated from other sources)