Ghana Airports Company Laments Measly Airport Passenger Service Charge: Says Airports Infrastructure To Suffer

• The Ghana Airports Company has said the Airport Passenger Service Charge, which is currently GH¢5, is too small to develop Ghana's domestic airports
• The fee is charged to each domestic passenger as a component of the flight charges and is used to develop domestic airport infrastructure
• The Ghana Airports Company has said the money raised every month from the current fee is not enough to develop Ghana's airport infrastructure

The Ghana Airports Company has said Ghana the Airport Passenger Service Charge (APSC), which is charged on each domestic flight passenger, is too small and must be reviewed to reflect current general price increases.

Managing Director of Ghana Airports Company Pamela Djamson-Tettey has said the current GH¢5 fee per passenger for domestic air travel must urgently be reviewed.

She has explained that the current domestic passenger service charge remains fixed at GH¢5 since 2010 although general price levels have gone up.

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She told participants at the 4th AviationGhana forum that it has become important to increase the charge considering the operational cost of running the newly-renovated domestic airports in the country.

The 4th AviationGhana Stakeholders Meeting held in Accra was under the theme: ‘Post Covid-19 Recovery Process and the Journey Ahead.

According to reports, in 2022 only GH¢4.3 million was raised by the current fee charged to each domestic passenger for the use of on-ground aviation infrastructure.

The amount translates into a little under GH¢ 360,000 per month, which the Ghana Airports Company says is inadequate to maintain the Kumasi, Sunyani, Wa, Ho, and Tamale airports, as well as the Terminal 2 of the Kotoka International Airport in Accra used for domestic operations.

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All the airports used for domestic flights need close to a million Ghana cedis per month to maintain.

Djamson-Tettey explained that with the upgrade of Tamale and Kumasi Airports to International status, it will 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.

Post Covid recovery process

Touching on the theme “Post-Covid Recovery Process and the Journey Ahead’’, Madam Djamson-Tettey indicated that the Post-Covid recovery has been gradual but 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.

The transport minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah who also spoke at the event told airline companies in Ghana to prioritise superior customer service, safety and reliability.

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He commended the resilience of all stakeholders during the pandemic and assured them of the ministry’s support where possible.

The AviationGhana Stakeholders Breakfast Meeting is an annual event that brings together all major stakeholders in the aviation sector and policymakers.

Revived national carrier to start flights in 2023

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that Ghana Airlines is scheduled to make its highly-anticipated first flight later this year.

The Zotus Group, the financier, has said the national carrier will start domestic and international flights later 2023, ending a 13-year draught of a national airline on the aviation map.

In 2019, the government awarded Ashanti Airlines and its operational and financial partner Zotus Group a tender to operate Ghana Airlines.

Source: YEN.com.gh