New Delhi, Dec 29 (IANS): Civil Aviation Ministry has proposed to include jet fuel under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, Parliament was informed on Thursday.

"This ministry has requested Ministry of Finance to include ATF in the ambit of GST regime with full input tax credit at the earliest possible," Minister of State of Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

Currently, petrochemical products like jet fuel do not come under the ambit of the new indirect tax structure.

ATF is a major cost component for airlines which constitutes between 35 and 40 per cent of the overall expenses.

To another question, Sinha said that Indian scheduled airline operators had estimated employment opportunities for about 3,700 pilots and 3,600 co-pilots in the next five years.

Currently, a total of 3,603 pilots, 3,914 co-pilots, and 15,030 cabin crew are employed by the Indian scheduled airline operators, as per the data maintained by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

"As per a recent comprehensive skill gap analysis...the total direct employment in the aviation sector in 2015 was about 1,95,320, comprising 33,000 at airports, 55,070 in airlines, 71,000 in cargo handling, 1,250 in Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) sub-sector and 35,000 in ground handling operations," Sinha said in reply to another question.