Indian airlines risk consolidation, plane repossessions amid COVID-19 surge

India’s airlines are under renewed pressure to raise cash or face the risk of having to downsize, consolidate or have their planes repossessed by lessors as a surge of COVID-19 infections roils travel. Passenger traffic fell by nearly 30% in April from a month before and has halved again so far in May, forcing even the country's biggest and most cashed-up carrier, IndiGo, to act. IndiGo's parent, Interglobe Aviation, met Friday to consider an equity raising, just months after it abandoned plans to raise up to 40b rupees ($543m) in January in response to a speedy recovery in travel. InterGlobe's board has decided to continue exploring all options to increase liquidity, including by way of a share sale to institutional investors, the company told the stock exchange. With traffic plummeting, according to aviation ministry data, IndiGo's cash burn is expected to rise to $3.4m a day - a level last seen in September - from $2m a day at the end of 2020, an analyst who tracks the company said. This means IndiGo, which has more than a 50% share of the market, may look to raise $543m to $679m amounting to at least two quarters of cash burn, said the analyst. While IndiGo is seen as a survivor, the situation is worse for smaller carriers, particularly those without large backers, some of which were struggling before the novel coronavirus hit, analysts say. Story has more.<br/>