By Abdulai Fasineh Dumbuya
The Director General of the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority (SLCAA), Musayeroh Barrie has explained that external taxes have been the factors for the high cost of flight tickets in and out of Sierra Leone.
Speaking at the Ministry of Information and Civic Educations’ Weekly Press Conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on Tuesday, 24th October 2023, she said the low number of flights coming into the country, late bookings, and internal taxes are among many factors contributing to the increase in flight tickets.
The Director said departure and transit taxes are key determinants for flight ticket change and that those taxes apply from point of origin to arrival-hitting hard on the overall ticket cost.
She referred to the airline base fare as another component that has factored greatly into the cost of flight tickets and is a practical universal problem affecting every country, irrespective of their status.
SLCAA Director General highlighted that as of January and September of 2022, ninety-six thousand and thirty-seven (96,037) passengers travelled out of the country and seventy-eight thousand, four hundred and thirty-seven (78,437) passengers came into the country.
She said that as of January to September 2023, 97,261 (ninety-seven thousand, two hundred and sixty-one) passengers travelled out of the country and eighty-four thousand, six hundred and fifty two (84,652) travelled into the country.
“It is interesting to know that there is only a 4% difference between 2022 and 2023 passenger figures when you look at the data,” she said.
She said the volume of passengers is also a huge contributing factor to the flight tickets, citing that the volume of which people travel, for instance, from Guinea is far greater than people travelling from Sierra Leone. She said this is simply because there are over 14 flights coming into Guinea as compared to Sierra Leone with barely 4 flights coming into the country.
She noted that the cost of a flight ticket from London to Sierra Leone, for this week, is thousand, eight hundred and seventy-one dollars ($1,871) and after removing all the components of the ticket, “the government will have only $137 (one hundred and thirty-seven dollars) as taxes.”
“I want to emphasize that we are trying to do more as a government to influence the local level aspect. There is more than one component of a ticket, and in order to get a long-term sustainable solution, we have to address all of these problems,” she said.
Director General Barrie said the SLCAA and Ministry of Transport and Aviation are taking robust steps to address those problems, but said the process is not going to be a quick fix and that it is something that needs long-term strategies, one of which is to encourage more airlines and bigger carriers.
She affirmed that the coming of Ethiopian Airlines in March next year will bring many opportunities for Sierra Leone which will open the country to more connectivity. She added that it will help the industry expand its horizons and capture the best opportunities out there.
The Director assured the public that SLCAA has a safety guarantee of 72% and a security guarantee of 71% for travelers, saying they are also trying to revive the regional and domestic flights so that Sierra Leone would become more of an airline society.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (27/10/23)
