Airport Passenger Service Charge on domestic travel woefully inadequate - GACL

Managing Director of Ghana Airports Company Limited, Mrs. Pamela Djamson-Tettey has indicated the need for an urgent review of the GH¢5 Airport Passenger Service Charge (APSC) per passenger for domestic air travel.

She made the call when speaking as a panelist at the 4th AviationGhana Stakeholders Meeting, held in Accra under the theme: “Post Covid-19 Recovery Process and the Journey Ahead.”

According to Madam Djamson-Tettey, the current domestic Airport Passenger Service Charge was fixed at GH¢5 in 2010 and has since not been reviewed.

She told participants that it had become critical to review the charge considering 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 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.

Madam Djamson-Tettey cautioned 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.

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.

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 on his part charged airlines operating in 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.

The Deputy Minister of Transport In-Charge of Aviation, Hassan Tampuli, supported by his colleague Deputy Minister of Transport, Frederick Obeng Adom, agreed with the suggestion for an increase in the APSC to enable GACL properly manage the facilities.

Other speakers at the breakfast meeting were Dr. Samson Fatokun, Head of Account Management & Area Manager, West & Central Africa; IATA, Mr Daniel Acquah, Deputy Director-General (Technical), Ghana Civil Aviation Authority; Mr. J. N. Halm, Customer Service Expert, Chief Content Officer, Service and Experience; and Samuel Ato Hagan, Managing Director of PassionAir.