After a recent hike in bus and take-off prices, air travelers may now face a similar plight as the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) again hiked jet fuel prices.
The price of aviation fuel has increased 11-fold since October last year, which is expected to deal another major blow to the local aviation industry following the existing economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Aviation industry insiders told The Daily Star that local airlines could potentially lose competition in the world market due to BPC’s decision.
This inevitably makes air travel more expensive and the passengers would have to bear the burden at the end of the day.
In its most recent decision, BPC increased Tk 7 for every liter of kerosene, which was Tk 70 in October, a Novoair official said.
In October 2020, kerosene fuel was Tk 46 per liter, which means that BPC has increased the price by 67 percent in the past 13 months, aviation industry sources said.
In December 2020, the cost of aviation fuel per liter was Tk 48, which rose to Tk 53 in January 2021. In February it was 55 Tk per liter, in March 60 Tk and in April 61 Tk.
In May, however, the price fell by one taka per liter.
In June the price per liter of kerosene was Tk 63, in July Tk 66, in August Tk 67 and in October Tk 70.
Kamrul Islam, general manager (public relations) of U.S. Bangla Airlines, said airlines around the world are being supported by their governments to help them stay afloat during the pandemic.
“When we need government assistance in an emergency, BPC has regularly raised the price of aviation fuel,” he added.
“Under these circumstances, we will not be able to compete with our global competitor,” said KAmrul
He said 40 to 46 percent of the cost of running an airliner is fuel.
KaziWahidulAlam, an aviation expert, said in light of the negative impact of Covid-19 that various countries are making plans for their airlines’ industries to survive.
“But our government has not done anything about this so far. Instead, it has increased kerosene prices without any logical explanation,” he said.
