Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has raised the prices of jet fuel again for both the domestic and international carriers, a move that will make air travel costlier.
Domestic airlines are nows paying Tk 3 more per litre, while international airlines are spending an additional 4 cents on every litre of the fuel.
The new prices were announced on June 7 and came into effect from June 8. Before that, the price was Tk 60 per litre for local carriers and 55 cents for international operators.
“BPC hiked jet fuel price by 37 per cent over the last eight months when fuel consumption was at record low as most of the countries had closed their air space during the global coronavirus crisis,” said Kamrul Islam, general manager (public relations) of US-Bangla Airlines.
Padma Oil Company Limited, a subsidiary of BPC, is the only agency that supplies jet fuel in the country.
“The price has been hiked to maintain balance with the international market,” BPC Director (operation and maintenance) Syed Mehedi Hasan told The Business Post on Thursday.
“But it is still lower than neighbouring India,” he claimed.
India Oil Corporation is selling jet fuel at 70 cents a litre while BPC is selling it at 59 cents for international airline operators.
“Our price is still 8 to 10 cents lower than the price in other SARRAC countries,” he said.
The move has not been welcomed by airline operators.
US-Bangla Airlines’ Kamrul dubbed it “quite illogical” as airliners are struggling to survive in the unusual circumstances created by the pandemic.
He noted that 40 per cent of the operation cost is spent on fuel.
“The price hike will ultimately affect passengers as it will make flying costlier,” he said.
