Domestic airfare expensive - Hassan Tampuli

Deputy Minister of Transport, Hassan Tampuli, has bemoaned the increase in domestic flight tickets in West Africa including Ghana.

He stressed that passengers have over the years shared the same sentiments that domestic airfare was expensive.

Speaking at the 4th Aviation Ghana stakeholders meeting in Accra on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, Mr Tampuli said, “In terms of airfare in our part of the continent, I don’t know whether it’s by accident or by design, airfares in this part of the world are too expensive.”

Speaking in the same vein, a Representative of Board of Airlines, Gloria Wilkinson Mensah, in an interview with the media rebutted the minister’s claim.

According to her, the high cost of fuel was one of the contributing factors to the pricing of flight tickets.

She further said the inability to purchase forex from the central bank was another challenge for airlines as they purchase from inter banks and commercial bank.

The rates of these commercial banks and interbank markets were higher than the figures stated by the Bank of Ghana.

“Fuel is one of our key cost in airline operations so when fuel prices go up or in the first structure, we have a tax we call YR Tax (Fuel surchage tax). That would usually flactuate with the fuel price on the global market. Similarly, what the minister is saying is that, when fuel prices drop, they also want to see an adjustment in that tax component. From the airlines perspective, the fuel market is a very volatile market. The flactuations in the prices do not really last or space over a long period of time...”

“The airline thrives on the volatility of forex becuase after we have generated revenue, paid taxzyou need to purchase forex. We are not getting a direct feed of forex from the central bank. You'll realise that the central bank's exchange rate on their website is always lower than the interbank and commercial bank rates. The airlines are getting a feed of forex from the interbanks, commercial banks and so, we are not getting,” Gloria Wilkinson Mensah stated.

ESA/FNOQ