India's aviation industry suffered a loss of over Rs 24,000 crore in the last two financial years during 2020-22.

As per the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, the industry in FY 2020-21 suffered a loss of Rs 12,479 crore and in FY 2021-22 it was Rs 11,658 crore.

In a reply at the Lok Sabha on Thursday, the Ministry said the Centre has taken various initiatives to support the aviation industry. The reduction in Value Added Tax (VAT) on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) was taken up with state governments and union territories levying high VAT on ATF. As a result, VAT on ATF has been reduced by 17 states and UTs.

The reply said that Goods and Services Tax (GST) on rate has been reduced from 18 per cent to 5 per cent for domestic Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services.

The Ministry further informed that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and other airport developers have targeted a capital outlay of approximately Rs 98,000 crore in the next five years for expansion and modification of new and existing terminals as well as the strengthening of runways, among other activities.

The Centre has also approved the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) to the aviation sector, according to the Ministry.

Based on the industry demand, the scope of ECLGS has been enhanced to provide credit support to these companies upto 100 per cent of their total credit outstanding (both fund based and non-fund based outstanding) as on reference dates, subject to a cap of Rs 1,500 crore per borrower, whichever is lower, it said in its reply.