Due to low traffic volume among other things… Air France Suspends Flight to Sierra Leone
Report Reaching Voice of Salone Newspaper reveals that the French national Airline, Air France, has suspended its operation to Sierra Leone. The reason for the suspension is said to be due to low traffic volume. Report, however, indicates that the customers base for Air France to the Freetown International Airport has decreased over the past months.
Shedding light on the issue, Popular Journalist and BBC Correspondence, Umaru Fofanah, suggested that Sierra Leone rethink their tax policy.
Currently, passengers pay higher to travel to Sierra Leone than other destinations in the West African sub-region.
“One saves several hundred dollars flying from Europe or the US – and a lot more to Australia and South America on ticket cost alone. “So, it’s a no-brainer that many passengers would rather travel to Guinea by road or boat and fly from Conakry,” Fofana said in his Facebook page, noting that he was told the reason for the high cost is due to taxes.
The Freetown International Airport, he said, has a number of extra charges that passengers complain to be exorbitant including a $50 security fee.
The body responsible for the management of the airport and airlines in the country, the Civil Aviation Authority expected costs to be reduced by the end of the year.
The airport, which now has a modern terminal, successfully passed the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) audit for the first time.
There are expectations that the result would attract more flights to Sierra Leone by the end of the year thereby resulting to an increment in revenue and subsequently a reduction in the high cost of travelling to Freetown from other destinations.
Air France has a fleet size of over 245 and fly to 201 destinations in 78 countries. The flight was one of the few non-regional flights that fly to Freetown at least once a week.
