New Delhi, May 9 (IANS) PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) on Saturday welcomed the government’s decision to approve a Rs 5,000 crore emergency credit support scheme for airlines under 'ECLGS 5.0' to address the financial and operational stress arising from the ongoing West Asia crisis. Rajeev Juneja, President, PHDCCI, said, “The Government’s swift intervention through the Rs 5,000 crore emergency credit scheme demonstrates strong policy responsiveness towards one of the most critical pillars of India’s services economy”.“Aviation is the backbone of tourism, trade and business mobility and supporting airline stability at this juncture will have a cascading positive impact across the broader economy, including hospitality, travel services and employment generation,” said Juneja.

The announcement aligns with key recommendations made in the recently released PHDCCI ‘Tourism and Hospitality Resilience Report’, titled ‘Impact of the West Asia Conflict on India’s Tourism, Aviation & Hospitality Sectors’, which highlighted the urgent need for targeted financial and policy support measures to stabilise India’s aviation and tourism ecosystem amid geopolitical disruptions.The report observed that higher operating costs and limited seat availability could impact inbound tourism demand from long-haul markets such as Europe and North America, where travellers are increasingly sensitive to airfare levels and travel duration.“The recommendations outlined in the PHDCCI report specifically emphasised the importance of financial resilience mechanisms and liquidity support for aviation and tourism stakeholders during periods of geopolitical uncertainty,” said Anil Parashar, Chair–Tourism and Hospitality Committee, PHDCCI.

PHDCCI said that continued policy support in areas such as ATF cost rationalisation, reduction in VAT on aviation fuel, strengthening travel facilitation mechanisms including e-Visas and improving liquidity support for tourism MSMEs will remain important for sustaining India’s long-term tourism competitiveness.“The current geopolitical situation has highlighted the deep interdependence between aviation connectivity and tourism growth. Timely financial support measures such as this will help airlines maintain operational continuity, preserve consumer confidence and minimise disruptions across the travel ecosystem,” said Dr. Ranjeet Mehta, CEO and Secretary General, PHDCCI.

/IANS