IATA chief: Wake-up call is here for Indian aviation sector

IATA chief: Wake-up call is here for Indian aviation sector International Air Transport Association chief Giovanni Bisignani has called on the Indian government to take steps to aid the country’s growing but fragile aviation industry.
   At a conference in New Delhi Wednesday, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Bisignani urged the government to remove excise duty and sales tax on jet fuel to spare upstart airlines from hemorrhaging money on fuel costs, Live Mint reported Thursday.
   He said India’s airlines were on course to lose more than $1.5 billion in 2008, more than any country other than the United States.
   Calling the current climate a “wake-up call,” he said the government has to overcome its nagging tradition of making laborious decisions on critical issues.
   “In India, the decision-making process is slow and the situation does not wait for the recommendations of a committee because aviation is a fast-growing sector,” he said. “A very wise decision taken too late does not make any sense.”
   Indian carriers are struggling in the face of rising fuel costs in 2008, a problem made worse by the fact that high duties make imported jet fuel more expensive than almost any other aviation market in the world.