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Jet Air Leads Indian Airline Losses as Modi Slaps Duty on Fuel

Jet fuel, just got dearer as PM Narendra Modi slapped a duty on imports as part of measures to arrest a slide in the rupee.

Jet Air Leads Indian Airline Losses as Modi Slaps Duty on Fuel
A Jet Airways passenger plane parked at Singapore’s Changi Airport is framed by two visitors. (Photographer: Jonathan Drake/Bloomberg News)

(Bloomberg) -- India’s struggling airlines are finding out there’s no end to their woes.

Jet fuel, for which they already pay the world’s highest prices, just got dearer as Prime Minister Narendra Modi slapped a duty on imports as part of measures to arrest a slide in the rupee.

Shares of Jet Airways India Ltd., SpiceJet Ltd. and InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. slumped on Thursday in Mumbai after the finance ministry announced a 5 percent import tax on aviation turbine fuel. The government raised customs duties on imports valued at $12 billion to help narrow the current-account deficit and bolster the local currency that is trading near a record low.

Jet Airways shares fell almost 10 percent and were headed for their lowest level in more than six years. SpiceJet and InterGlobe, which operates IndiGo, dropped about 4 percent and were set for their worst close since February 2017, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Jet Air Leads Indian Airline Losses as Modi Slaps Duty on Fuel

The move by the Modi administration compounds the troubles faced by Jet Airways, which is seeking to raise funds and reduce debt as part of a turnaround plan.

The Mumbai-based carrier is among those finding it tough to make money in the Indian market, where competition has driven fares below cost. After reporting its biggest quarterly loss since 2015 in August, the Mumbai-based carrier has deferred salaries to some employees and is paying them in installments.

--With assistance from Debjit Chakraborty.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jill Ward in New Delhi at jward98@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anand Krishnamoorthy at anandk@bloomberg.net, Sam Nagarajan

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.