NEW DELHI: India is likely to oppose the reported  European Union threat to impose fines on  Air India and  Jet Airways for not accepting  EU’s emissions trading scheme (EU-ETS) and not reporting their emissions over European skies, officials said today. Only these two Indian carriers, which fly to Europe, are likely to be slapped a total fine of around Euros 30,000, while eight Chinese carriers could face fines totalling Euros 2.4 million euros, they said.

Refusing to be cowed down to the EU threat, the officials, requesting anonymity, said the two Indian carriers operate a total of about 5-6 flights a day, while their European counterparts together operated 30-40 daily flights to India. On top of this, several European carriers overfly India for which they require permission.

The officials said India had the option of taking counter-measures which could “prove costly for European carriers.”  Indian airlines also have major aircraft orders from European firms like  Airbus and its parent company EADS, which constitute Europe’s most important exports. India had last year joined Russia, China, the US and about 18 other major countries in opposing EU-ETS.

India and China had also asked their airlines not to participate in a permit system that entitled them and other producers of greenhouse gases like a steel factory, to emit greenhouse gases by paying for the right to emit them. Officials said India and several other nations, which are major aviation nations, have been opposing  EU-ETS as it was “ultra vires and went counter to the provisions of the (UN body)  International Civil Aviation Organization.