Airfares are likely to be reduced if the operation costs of airline companies are reduced.
This is the verdict of Vice President, Africa of the International Air Transport Association, Raphael Kuuchi.
According to him, Ghana’s aviation industry which he commends as a highly competitive one is however constrained with the continuous rise in production costs.
The cost of aviation fuel which is 57 cents per litre in Ghana is the highest compared to other West African countries.
Also, the recently introduced VAT on air tickets has reduced the number of passenger traffic. Raphael Kuuchi who was speaking to Citi Business News said these issues must be critically looked at.
“The fuel price in Ghana is not competitive compared to its neighbours; because of this many airlines do not pick fuel from here so we’re losing out on revenues that these airlines could have paid to the fuel suppliers in the country. Because of this, it is also a disincentive for some airline operators to come to Ghana. As a result of the high fuel prices, ticket prices are also relatively high.”
He noted. “So if the fuel prices and cots of operations come down, airlines are likely to bring down the fares. There was the introduction of VAT, that is also counterproductive and to the development of domestic tourism, that needs to be looked at critically,” Raphael Kuuchi further obsereved.
(culled from ghanaweb.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment