Gov’t urged to support domestic airlines

Mr. Eric Antwi, Chief Executive of Starbow airline, has urged the government to make the process of importing aircraft parts easier for domestic airline operators.

“Procuring aircraft parts for standard maintenance is crucial to running an airline successfully. Any difficulty with that process would surely have an adverse effect on the operations of any airline.”

Mr. Antwi in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said another area where the domestic airline industry needed assistance was the granting of soft loans.

He said factors such as the 17 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT), which domestic airline operators had to pay among others, made it fairly challenging financially running an airline, adding that one means of minimizing the challenge was the granting of soft loans.

“Paying taxes is the right thing to do, but considering the circumstances prevailing now, it would be in the right direction if the 17 per cent VAT was taken off.”

Mr. Antwi praised the government for its dedication towards improving the airports within the country, adding that it was a step in the right direction because ensuring the right standards at airports enhanced both aircraft and airport safety.

He expressed the hope that the New Year would see an improvement in the stabilization of the cedi, as well as other areas that affected the airline industry because, “this highly influences the performance of domestic airlines”.

The Starbow boss said domestic airlines played a strong role in promoting economic growth in the country.

“Doing business by air is definitely much faster than by land. If economic factors make it possible for people to do business faster, that is economically progressive,” he said.