Apr 29, 2026 14:01 pm IST

Opinion | 'On Verge Of Stopping': Inside The Panic That Led To Indian Airlines' SOS Call

On April 26, 2026, three private airlines - Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet - wrote to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, through the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), to say that they were on the verge of stopping operations.

Aditya Sinha Aditya Sinha Analyst

In 1953, the Air Corporations Act nationalised commercial aviation in India. JRD Tata's airline, which had begun in October 1932 with a single de Havilland Puss Moth, carrying mail from Karachi to Bombay, was taken into state hands. The argument made at the time was that the carriers were small, fragmented, and financially unviable, and that aviation was too strategic to be left to the market. India then had two state airlines and no domestic competition for the next four decades. On April 26, 2026, three private airlines (Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet) wrote to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, through the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), to say that they were on the verge of stopping operations. The argument from 1953 was, in a quiet way, older than they were.

That, however, is not the interesting question.

Only 3 Groups Have Signalled For Help

The interesting question is comparative. The same shock has hit every airline in the world. Brent has gone from around $85 a barrel in late February, before the war and the Strait of Hormuz blockade, to around $150 a barrel. The crack spread - the refining margin between crude and Jet A-1 - has widened with it. The IATA monitor put jet fuel at $179 a barrel for the week ending April 24, against $80 in early March. Lufthansa has cancelled 20,000 flights for the summer and permanently retired 27 of its CityLine aircraft. Air France-KLM has raised long-haul fares by EUR 50 per round trip. Cathay Pacific has cut 2% of its scheduled........

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