Maharaja To Fly Unscathed

The extension of the no-fly zone is mainly to help the allies build greater control over Saddam's airspace and has been officially termed as military decision. The US missile attack is expected to bypass aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices for the time being.

When contacted by Business Standard, Air India officials said they have not yet been informed of a hike in ATF prices.

Industry sources say the reason for no immediate impact on ATF prices could be that Indian Oil Corporation has sufficient ATF reserves at present.

The attack on Iraq had sent a wave of apprehension in the civil aviation industry regarding ATF prices.

 

ATF prices were recently hiked by the petroleum ministry, forcing domestic airlines to consider fare hikes. The US missile attack, however, is yet to snowball into a major issue for the Indian civil aviation industry.