The Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) is working to attract more domestic airlines to the aviation industry in a bid to reduce high airfares, the Managing Director of GACL, Mrs Yvonne Nana Afriyie Opare, has said.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in Parliament yesterday, Mrs Opare noted that increasing the number of domestic carriers would create competition, which could lead to lower ticket prices.
She attributed the current high cost of domestic flights to the duopoly of domestic airlines, currently limited to Passion Air and Africa World Airlines.
“The price of domestic tickets is indeed quite expensive. Unfortunately, it doesn’t lie in the domain of the GACL, but is an airline issue. What we can do as an airline operator is to engage and appeal that the prices are reduced,” Mrs Opare said.
“Also, because there is a duopoly of domestic carriers, if we are able to get more domestic carriers, the competition will force the prices to go down. So, we are working to get more carriers to operate in the country,” she added.
Mrs Opare mentioned technical challenges beyond the control of GACL that sometimes affect domestic airline operations. However, she assured the committee that GACL would work to improve services to ensure passengers receive quality experiences during travel.
She also disclosed that it is now mandatory for travelers in possession of weapons or ammunition, whether licensed or unlicensed, to declare them to GACL at the airport. Licensed items are permitted to travel with their owners, while unlicensed items are confiscated and handed over to the National Investigative Bureau (NIB).
“Currently, we have a directive from the Civil Aviation Authority, the regulator of the aerodrome in Ghana, indicating that a person commits an offence when carrying a weapon or ammunition into an aerodrome or aircraft without relevant authorization or declaration to an air operator,” Mrs Opare said.
Additionally, she noted that GACL has implemented a weapon declaration policy, as recommended in the 2024 Auditor-General’s report, following the interception of over 2,000 weapons and ammunition.
Mrs Opare explained that the high service costs charged by GACL are justified, as the revenue is used to improve infrastructure and passenger services.
“Comparatively, we [Ghana] are about number four in the region and rank about 15 in the world in terms of cost. It may be expensive, but there are critical infrastructure projects we need to implement if we want to see Ghana as an aviation hub,” she asserted.
BT BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY
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