AIRPORT CHARGES TO GO UP - Bantaba in Cyberspace
The Gambia Civil Aviation Authority said that it has received the go-ahead from the government to increase passenger service and security fees at the airport, including the introduction of a passenger safety levy.
Archive note: the original publication date could not be verified. March 14, 2021 is an assigned catalogue date for this record.
Editorial note: This archive item reproduces or summarizes third-party material supplied to the newsroom. Allegations remain attributed to the speakers or outlets identified and should not be read as independent judicial findings by this publication.
The Gambia Civil Aviation Authority said that it has received the go-ahead from the government to increase passenger service and security fees at the airport, including the introduction of a passenger safety levy.
In a letter to stakeholders, the GCAA said the new charges – which will come into effect on May 1st – followed a consultative meeting held with stakeholders.
“The decision to increase the Passenger Service Charge of £10 was informed by the fact that the charge has remained stagnant for the past 30 years. Therefore, considering the massive investment undertaken at the airport over the years, it is fair and economically prudent that the charge is revised upwards to enable the recovery of some cost of investment which will be ploughed back towards the continuous operation and maintenance of the airport in line with acceptable standards,” the letter said.
On the increase of security fees from £1.50 to $25 for departing and $25 per arriving passenger, the Authority stated: “It is clear that the cost of providing adequate security in the face of evolving threats has increased. As a result, the Authority proposed the increase of security fees to cover these costs which will also lead to cessation of the physical collection of Securiport charges at the airport and this will enhance efficiency in terms of aircraft turnaround as well as passenger processing times.
It is worth noting that the physical collection of Securiport charges at the airport has introduced another layer to passenger facilitation leading to slow processing times for both arrivals and departures. Consequently, the increase in the charges which are already embedded in the ticket will eliminate this undesirable issue.”
The GCAA said of the Passenger Safety Levy (PSL) of $5 per departing passengers: “The introduction of this levy is meant to support the enhancement of aviation safety locally through the payment of The Gambia’s contributions to the Banjul Accord Group Regional Safety Oversight Organisation (BAGASOO), which is a regional aviation safety oversight organisation driven by the mission to promote the highest safety standards among the Banjul Accord Group (BAG) member states.
Since most of the member states do not have enough competencies for aviation safety oversight, BAGASSO was established to assist in building oversight capabilities and also perform such functions for the state where necessary. The implementation of this levy is provided for in the Civil Aviation Act 2018.”
The cumulative total of the new proposals is $15 and £3.5, the Authority said.
SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS ON THE INCREASE OF PASSENGER SERVICE AND SECURITY CHARGES AND INTRODUCTION OF PASSENGER SAFETY LEVY AT THE BANJUL Main international airport
On the instruction of the Governing Body (Board of Directors) of the Gambia Toursim Board, we would like to bring to your kind attention about a recent circular from the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) informing all stakeholders both local and international of a new tariff at the Banjul International Airport effective 1st May, 2023.
As you already know our industry is still grabbling with the noise/impact concerning the USD40 (USD20 inbound and USD20 outbound for all passengers) through the SECURIPORT since it’s inception two years ago. Consequently, introducing new charges at the airport will certainly affect the strategy being put in place to quickly return to our industry to normalcy and beyond.
B. Increase of security fees from £1.50 to $25 per departing and $25 per arriving passengers
C. Introduction of Passenger safety levy (PSL) of $5 per departing passenger.
D. I’m summary, the cumulative total of the new proposal is $15 and £3.5.
You will recall that the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the Gambia Tourism Board have been engaging stakeholders both local and international and we have since registered some gains for the coming seasons and as we write this letter we continue to receive threats of cancellation of planned flight to the destinations as you can find below;
A. The Gambia Tourism Board already approved joint marketing activities with the NORDIC LEISURE GROUP (Vings) to restart its flight operations to the Gambia after being absent for more than 2 years with Airbus 330 from October weekly from Helsinki-Arlanda-Banjul with a total load factor of 9000 passengers for 2023. They have indicated that with this charges they will not be able to operate as planned unless a swift action is taken
B. Gambia Experience was planning to increase its flight frequencies to three.
C. TUI UK was planning to increase its flight operations from four to five per week.
D. Rainbow Tours was putting in place for two flights per week from Poland.
E. Brussels Airlines were looking into increasing its five flights per week to 6 flights per week to the Gambia.
G. Corendon is planning to increase its flight operations from three to four times a week.
H. Bunts Canaries is planning to restart its flight operations to the Gambia from Spain after two years.
In addition to the above, TAP Portugal is stopping its operations from March till October in addition to the uncertainty of AIR FRANCE’s continuous operations to the Gambia four times a week.