The domestic aviation sector is staring at a revenue loss of around Rs 25,000 crore in the current financial year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CRISIL Infrastructure Advisory has said.
Domestic airlines are expected to incur a revenue loss of around Rs 17,000 crore in 2020-21 (April-March). Revenue loss for airport operators is estimated around Rs 5,000 crore-Rs 5,500 crore, while airport retailers may see a revenue loss of nearly Rs 1,700 crore-Rs 1,800 crore, CRISIL has estimated.
The losses may increase if the travel restrictions last longer at hubs like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Kolkata.
Overall, it may take 6-8 quarters for the aviation sector to reach to the levels seen before the outbreak of COVID-19, CRISIL added.
“These are preliminary estimates, and aggregate losses could increase if the
lockdown is extended beyond the first quarter. As and when operations resume, overall operational capacity will hover at 50-60% for the rest of the fiscal. Consequently, mergers and acquisitions of airlines, and relook at expansion plans of private and upcoming greenfield airports would be possibilities," Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Director and Practice Leader, Transport & Logistics, CRISIL Infrastructure Advisory added..
