Grim days ahead for local airlines as jet fuel price set at Tk 118 a litre

Local airlines will be hit again by a rise in jet fuel prices in the domestic market.

Padma Oil Company Limited, a subsidiary of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), raised the price of jet fuel by Tk 6 per litre today.

The price of jet fuel will now become Tk 118.

Stakeholders in the aviation industry criticised the BPC for its decision to increase the fuel price and said there is no logic in the decision as the price of jet fuel price remains static in the international market.

This is for the 18th time that Padma Oil Company Limited increased the price of jet fuel in the last 27 months.

According to aviation industry insiders, passengers would have to spend more money owing to a price increase in jet fuel.

The price of jet fuel, which accounts for up to 46 to 50 percent of an airline's operational expenditures, was Tk 48 per litre in December 2020.

According to aviation expert Kazi Wahidul Alam, the country's airline sector would not be able to continue if the government does not cooperate.

"In the current situation, the airline sector is facing a difficult battle to maintain their existence," he added.

"If the price of jet fuel rises more, travellers will choose alternative modes of transportation instead of flying," he warned, adding, "The country's private airlines would face an existential crisis."

According to sources at the country's two private airlines, US-Bangla and Novoair, a year and a half ago, a domestic flight cost roughly Tk 2,500 or slightly more. However, because of the rise in jet fuel prices, the cost has increased by two to three times.