Summa’s Airport Tollgate Will Scare away Travellers
By Kelvin Jay
Winning the contract to construct a new airport terminal and run it for 25 years does not in any way give Summa Group the right to trample on the right of Sierra Leoneans. The airport premises has been an area frequented by residents in the country to either welcome or bid farewell to friends and loved ones, as well as business associates, and from the establishment of the facility in that area, no one has ever been asked to pay for parking of vehicle, when the reason for being at the facility is barely to welcome or bid farewell to people.
It is therefore a violation of the right of residents in the country to prevent them from accessing the facility and parking their vehicles in the designated parking lots. Even where government ministries are located at Youyi Building in Freetown, no one is charged for parking their vehicles while doing business there.
It is the responsibility of the authority running the airport to provide parking space for its customers.
All those going to the airport do not go there for fun, but on business. The business of the airport is to deal with travellers, and should have in mind that these people will be received or bade farewell to by residents and it is the duty of the authorities to provide parking space for them.
The previous administration of the airport had never installed a tollgate, but had allowed all visitors to the facility to have a parking space. In business, one does not scare his customers away, but encourage them to patronize it.
The tollgate has the potential to scare travellers away, pushing them to look for alternate exits from the country, a notable one being the neighboring countries. The impact of this action will mean depriving government of much needed revenue got from air tickets and airport taxes. It will stifle the work of airlines in the country, as passengers look for alternate routes. It will also hinder tourism, especially as visitors need people to collect them on arrival etc.
Some social commentators say that Summa Group has 25 years to run the airport and will be making money in such a venture, they should not be using our fat to fry us in the name of investment. They observed that in most cases, the flights do not arrive on time and when they do, the time of going through all the various sections: immigration collection of baggages etc take long time, and during this period those welcoming or bidding farewell often have to wait, and their vehicles also are parked in the parking lot. These delay are not the fault of the waiting recipients, but the airport administration or airline. Many have questioned the rationale behind the imposition of the $25 charge, known as security fee.
Sierra Leoneans are calling on the government to prevail on Summa Group to reverse the payment on the tollgate. It is another form of discrimination by the company against poor Sierra Leoneans who may be going to the airport to welcome their loved ones. This is not what His Excellency promised to the people of Sierra Leone. He promised to make life better for them and this tollgate will make life difficult for them.
Concerned citizens also raised the possibility of mechanical failure of vehicles. This can happen to any vehicle at any time, and what this means is that the vehicle owner has to grapple with fixing his vehicle and paying for the period that the said vehicle will be there. This is unfair, they stressed.
The reaction of Sierra Leoneans came as a result of a notice issued by Summa Airport Limited(SL), dated 5th June, 2022, informing the public and passengers travelling through the Freetown International Airport(FNA) about its newly installed tollgate system, which will start commercial operation effective 1st July, 2023.
According to the Notice, the Company states that tariff for all categories of vehicles entering the airport ranging 0-30 minutes should pay Nle5.00, 30 Minutes-1 hour Nle10.00, 1hr-3hrs Nle20, 6-12hrs Nle100,12-24hrs NLe175, 2 days- 7 days Nle450,1 Week Nle 625 and per day beyond a week which is NLe150.
The new vehicular tariff has been considered as an additional burden on travelers, especially when they have to pay $25 security fees in the same Airport. This system has caused more financial burden on travelers.
