Aviation turbine fuel (ATF), or jet fuel as it is commonly called, witnessed a steep, over 18 per cent hike, to a record ₹1,10,666.26 per kilolitre (kl) in Delhi; up from ₹93,530.66 per kl, according to a price notification issued by state-owned fuel retailers.
The new prices will be effective Wednesday onwards.
Jet fuel price in Mumbai jumped to ₹109,119.83 per kl, up from ₹91,998.08 per kl. In Kolkata, it soared to ₹114,979.70 per kl while in Chennai it increased to ₹114,133.73 per kl.
The hikes come at a time when Brent crude – the international benchmark - continued to soar above $100 a barrel amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
In India, this is the steepest hike that has been initiated in recent times with the rates surging past the ₹1 lakh per kl mark for the first time. Six price hikes have so far been initiated from January this year onwards. Between January and March, the cumulative price hike in aviation fuel is around 50 per cent.
Jet fuel, which makes up for almost 40 per cent of the running cost of an airline, has, this year, surged to new highs. On March 1, aviation fuel prices were increased by 3.3 per cent.
Resumption of flights
Earlier this month, the DGCA announced the resumption of scheduled international commercial flights to and from India. Resumption is expected from March 27.
Ratings agency ICRA had, in a recent report, said that India’s domestic passenger traffic saw a 19 per cent rise sequentially to an estimated 76 lakh in February; as compared to 64 lakh in January.
Analysts expect a higher traffic in March in view of lowering Covid cases and an extended Holi weekend. Airfares, according to various ticket booking sites, have already seen “at least 20 per cent increase” for the Holi weekend.
Aviation stocks were in focus post the hike, with shares of InterGlobe Aviation – which owns IndiGo, the country’s largest carrier – closed at ₹1,900.30 up by 3.69 per cent, on the BSE on Wednesday. SpiceJet shares closed at ₹60.20, up 1.69 per cent while Jet Airways (India) Ltd share closed at ₹90.45 up by 0.56 per cent, on the BSE.