Indian carriers may ground 150 planes; stare at quarterly loss on coronavirus impact: Report

All Indian airlines will report significant losses in the first quarter of this year and may initially ground around 150 planes as the shock from the coronavirus pandemic will be “far deeper and much longer”, according to a report. Aviation advisory firm CAPA India on Wednesday said even before COVID-19 (coronavirus) appeared on the scene, most Indian carriers already had very strained balance sheets and almost no liquidity.

“This latest shock will once again expose the vulnerability of India’s aviation system as happened during the fuel price spike in 2008. But on that occasion the shock was short-lived, even if its impact reverberated for several years. This time, the shock itself will be far deeper and much longer,” it said in a report.