Pamela Djamson-Tettey speaking at the event
THE MANAGING Director of Ghana Airports Company Limited, Pamela Djamson-Tettey, has called for an urgent review of the Airport Passenger Service Charge (APSC) for domestic air travel.
According to her, the GH¢5 paid per domestic passenger as service charge was woefully inadequate.
She made the call at the 4th Aviation Ghana Stakeholders Meeting, held in Accra on the theme, “Post COVID-19 Recovery Process and the Journey Ahead.”
Mrs. Djamson-Tettey said the charge was fixed at GH¢ 5 as far back as 2010 and has since not been reviewed.
She told participants that it had become critical to review the charge considering the operational cost of running the newly-renovated domestic airports in the country.
For 2022, the GH¢5 charged to each domestic passenger for the use of on-ground aviation infrastructure, yielded just under GH¢4.3 million.
The amount, which translates into a little under GH¢ 360,000 per month, remains inadequate in the maintenance of Kumasi, Sunyani, Wa, Ho, Tamale airports and Terminal 2 of the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, which is used for domestic operations.
Typically, for the existing regional airport such as the Tamale Airport, the major expenditure lines – electricity and water supply, maintenance of lighting equipment, air conditioning, janitorial services, waste disposal, maintenance of the terminal building, and other overhead costs – is close to a million cedis per month.
Mrs. Djamson-Tettey cautioned that with the upgrade of Tamale and Kumasi Airports to international status, it would be difficult to manage the running costs including utilities, maintenance of the Aeronautical Ground Lighting Systems and other equipment if an urgent review was not done.
Touching on the theme, “Post-COVID Recovery Process and the Journey Ahead,” Mrs. Djamson Tettey indicated that the Post-COVID recovery has been gradual with encouraging passenger throughput especially on the domestic front.
She indicated that post-pandemic traffic on the domestic routes namely Kumasi, Wa, Sunyani and Tamale rose astronomically to 852,101 passengers in 2022 compared to the pre-pandemic figure of 690,314 passengers in 2019. This, she asserted, was testament to the strong recovery within the sector and therefore called for a concerted effort by all industry players, to consolidate the gains made.
Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, charged airlines operating into Ghana to prioritise superior customer service, safety and reliability in their operations. He further commended the resilience of all stakeholders during the pandemic and assured them of the ministry’s support where possible.
BY Jamila Akweley Okertchiri