Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, Transport Minister, led a team to inspect Ho Airport ahead of the 66th Independence Anniversary Celebration in March, 2023.
The Anniversary celebration is scheduled to take place in Ho, the Volta Regional Capital.
The team, together with the Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa inspected the operational areas namely Arrival and Departure halls, Air Traffic Control, Fire Station and the Emergency Operations Center among others.
During the visit, Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah was assured of the airport’s readiness to receive visitors and dignitaries who will be travelling through the airport for the celebrations.
The Hon. Minister was accompanied by Hon. Emmanuel Bossman, Deputy Chief of Staff; Mr Paul Adom Otchere, Board Chairman of GACL; Board Members of GACL; Mrs. Pamela Djamson – Tettey, Managing Director, GACL; Mr Daniel Acquah, Deputy Director General, Technical – GCAA and other officials of Ghana Airports Company Limited and Ghana Civil Aviation Authority.
Meanwhile, prior to the visit made to Ho, Mrs. Pamela Djamson-Tettey, Managing Director of Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) called for an urgent review of the Airport Passenger Service Charge (APSC) per passenger for domestic air travel.
According to Mrs. Djamson-Tettey, the APSC needs an urgent review from GH¢ 5, which has been the prevailing charge for a while now.
The current domestic Airport Passenger Service Charge, Madam Djamson-Tettey said, was fixed at GH¢ 5 in 2010 and had since not been reviewed.
Therefore, while speaking as a panelist during the 4th Aviation Ghana stakeholders meeting held in Accra under the theme: “Post Covid-19 Recovery Process and the Journey Ahead”, she urged that attention be given to reviewing the APSC.
Speaking directly to the participants at the meeting, she stated that it had become critical to review the charge, considering operational cost of running the newly renovated domestic airports in the country.
In 2022, the fee of GH¢ 5 per domestic passenger for utilizing on-ground aviation infrastructure generated a total of GH¢ 4.3 million cedis.
Revenues generated from domestic air travels is insufficient
The revenue generated from Airport Passenger Service Charges per customer, equivalent to approximately GH¢ 360,000 per month, is insufficient to sustain the upkeep of Kumasi, Sunyani, Wa, Ho, Tamale airports, and the domestic operations terminal (Terminal 2) at Kotoka International Airport in Accra.
Typically, the regional airports like Tamale Airport have monthly expenditures of close to a million cedis for essential costs such as electricity and water supply, lighting equipment maintenance, air conditioning, cleaning services, waste disposal, terminal building maintenance, and other general expenses.
Madam Djamson-Tettey warned that unless an immediate review is carried out, it will be challenging to cover the expenses, including utilities and maintenance of the Aeronautical Ground Lighting Systems and other equipment, of Tamale and Kumasi airports after their upgrade to international status.
Touching on the theme “Post Covid Recovery Process and the Journey Ahead’’, Madam Djamson-Tettey indicated that the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic has been slow but steady, with an encouraging number of passengers, particularly on domestic travel.
The Managing Director of GACL noted that after the pandemic, the number of domestic passengers on routes such as Kumasi, Wa, Sunyani, and Tamale significantly increased to 852,101 passengers in 2022, compared with the pre-pandemic figure of 690,314 passengers in 2019.
This, she asserted, as an evidence of a strong recovery within the sector. She therefore called for a united effort from all industry players to build on these achievements made.
On his part, Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, Minister of Transport, charged airlines operating in Ghana to prioritize superior customer service, safety and reliability in their operations.
Mr. Asiamah further commended all stakeholders for their resilience during the pandemic and assured of the Ministry’s support where possible.
The Deputy Minister of Transport responsible for Aviation, Hassan Tampuli, with the support of his colleague, Deputy Minister of Transport, Frederick Obeng Adom, concurred with the proposal to raise the APSC to provide GACL with the necessary resources to effectively manage its facilities.
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