(MENAFN- Bangladesh Monitor)
Dhaka: Price of jet fuel has skyrocketed for a record seven times in six months to BDT 100 per liter for domestic flight operations.
Jet fuel price now stands at BDT 100 per litre as the subsidiary of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) Padma Oil Company raised it by BDT 13 per litre on April 6, 2022.
In December 2020, jet fuel price was BDT 48 per litre. This is the 13th time in 17 months, jet fuel price has been increased.
With the latest price hike, domestic airfare has gotten even costlier. Both the private carriers of the country, US-Bangla and NOVOAIR, have increased their airfares on different domestic sectors.
Until March 14, the airfare on Dhaka-Chattogram route was about BDT 4000, then it rose to BDT 4300 and now on April 9 the starting airfare on the route stands at a whopping BDT 4999.
However, Biman Bangladesh Airlines is offering a starting fare of BDT 3500, as of April 9, for flight tickets on the route.
The latest price hike of jet fuel again deals a further blow to the already struggling aviation industry reeling from the impact of Covid-19.
However, the actual sufferers are the passengers who are having to pay more and more with every passing month, apparently.
Even the jet fuel price for international flight operations has been increased to USD 1.02 per litre. Due to this, the migrant labours will be the most affected, who are already struggling to afford the sky-high airfares to the Middle-Eastern countries.
Jet fuel occupies 46 per cent of the operations costs of an airline. Hence, the effect of the latest round of hike has already and will further be passed on to the passengers, as now the airlines will have a new excuse to increase airfare, claimed Leaders of Recruiting Agency Oikya Parishad and Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agents (BAIRA).
Aviation experts claimed, in comparison with the neighbouring and peer countries, the jet fuel price in Bangladesh is very high.
However, reports cited BPC Chairman ABM Azad claiming earlier that the local price of jet fuel corresponded to those in the international market.
Lal Hossain, Secretary of BPC, said, 'The committee on the fuel price hike has increased the price of jet fuel due to high import cost. In comparison to the Kolkata market, the jet fuel price here it is much lower.'
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