|
Airlines had to pay FBT on a variety of expenditures, including hotels booked for crew to stay, cars used to transport crew and also free air tickets that were provided to the personnel as part of their annual pay package. It is estimated that a large-sized airline, having both international and domestic operations, would have to set aside almost Rs 50 crore annually towards FBT.
Meanwhile, the Union Budget has provided Rs 190 crore to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, including Rs 99.15 crore to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), while Rs 10 crore has been made available to Pawan Hans Helicopter Corporation. The funds have been made available to AAI to upgrade Jammu and Srinagar airports and for providing improvements in various parts of the country, including Sikkim, Pondicherry, Agatti, Port Blair and Leh.
National Aviation Company of India Ltd, formed through the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, has not got any budgetary allocation but the airline has indicated that it will incur Internal and Extra Budgetary Resources (IEBR) expenses of Rs 8,165.64 crore.
|