Covid threatens to ground India's aviation industry

The pandemic has dealt a body blow to India's airlines, which had already been battling a broken pricing model and a domestic slowdown. "I have sold my house and moved into a small apartment because I could no longer afford to pay my home loan," says a former pilot. The 38-year-old, who used to work for the state-run Air India, said he and his relatives were constantly harassed by the bank when he began defaulting on his payments. There was a time when flying for Air India was a lucrative career. In 2011, senior pilots were earning as much as 10m rupees which, at the current exchange rate, amounts to more than $135,000 or £103,000. But the country's flagship carrier is now bankrupt. It has been looking for a buyer for years - a prospect that has dimmed amid the pandemic, reportedly forcing the government to even consider wiping the airline's $3.3b debt-tag from the deal. Air India is not the only one in trouble. Indian aviation - once a promising industry with aspirational jobs - has been floundering in recent years. Seven airlines, including Jet Airways, India's oldest private carrier that was often hailed as a success story, shut shop in the past decade. And now Covid-19 is threatening the rest, compounding the effect of years of high fuel prices, heavy taxes, low demand and cut-throat competition. India currently has eight carriers, with Indigo leading the market. Air Deccan was the only airline which was forced to suspend operations in April, putting all its staff on leave without pay until further notice. "Indian airlines are very precariously placed," says Kapil Kaul, South Asia CEO of CAPA - Centre for Aviation, an industry organisation. Story has more.<br/>