Credit crunch: Airlines seek $1 billion bailout

BANGALORE: The global credit meltdown has hit home and how. India’s beleaguered airline sector has become the first industry to seek an official bailout from the government. The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has asked for a $1 billion (about Rs 5,000 crore) interest free loan from the government to tide over the current crisis in addition to many other fiscal sops and easing of regulatory measures. FIA, whose members include Air India, Go Airlines, IndigGo, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, Paramount Airways & Spicejet, wants a moratorium of three years on the repayment of loan. A fiercely competitive market, slowing passenger traffic, rising costs and the current liquidity crunch has brought the industry to a stage where it feels that if a bailout package is not on the cards then it would need to substantially... [read full story]