Notified for three months, the decision follows a sharp spike in crude oil prices that triggered a rise in jet fuel costs and airfares.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has announced a 25 per cent reduction in landing and parking charges for domestic carriers for a period of three months, effective immediately, to help mitigate the impact of the West Asia conflict.
Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Ram Mohan Naidu, stated on Wednesday that the move is part of the Centre’s larger goal of keeping flying on domestic routes affordable. “Even in the prevailing challenging situation, when global air operations are impacted, we have ensured that cancellations and rising fuel costs do not severely affect the operations of our domestic carriers.”
The ministry notified the decision following a sharp spike in crude oil prices, which led to a disproportionate increase in jet fuel costs and forced scheduled domestic carriers to revise their fuel surcharges. An official statement said the step is aimed at helping carriers manage operational costs while ensuring that the benefits of affordable air travel continue to reach passengers.
Earlier, on April 2, India announced a marginal increase in jet fuel prices to support the industry.
“While ATF (aviation turbine fuel) costs globally have risen by more than 100 per cent, we have passed on only a moderated increase capped at 25 per cent,” said Naidu. “Now, with the ultimate aim of supporting airlines and, in turn, passengers, airfare increases are being further contained by reducing landing and parking charges levied by airport operators… This is a significant intervention to provide relief to airlines grappling with increasing operational costs.”
He further assured that his ministry was closely monitoring the situation along with all stakeholders, including airlines, airport operators, and the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA).
Departments under the ministry, such as AERA and the Airports Authority of India (AAI), have been instructed to ensure a swift rollout of the notification. Per an AERA order, any under‑recovery by individual airports shall be adjusted during tariff determination in the next control period of five years. AAI will reduce landing and parking charges at all its non‑major airports by 25 per cent of the approved rate.
These measures are expected to reduce landing and parking charges payable by airlines at major airports during the three months by around ₹4 billion.