President John Dramani Mahama has called for improvement in service delivery at Ghana’s airports to match the massive investment taking place at those facilities.
He said the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality must hold sway in the handling of customer service. The President made the call when he addressed the third annual general meeting of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) in Accra on Tuesday.
The meeting received the reports of the company’s chairman and managing director, considered the financial statement for 2014 and deliberated on other issues of interest to the company.
Infrastructure
Expatiating on infrastructural development at the airports, the President said ongoing expansion and rehabilitation works at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) were expected to give the airport additional capacity for domestic and international travels.
The President, who had earlier inspected work on the new terminal project, urged the contractors to ensure that work was completed on schedule. He said what was refreshing was that all the projects taking place at the airports were financed with funds sourced by the company.
"This is an example for all government agencies," he added.
Passenger travel
President Mahama mentioned the reduction in domestic air travels and said he was informed that there were reports that the charging of Value Added Tax (VAT) and National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) on air travels was a factor.
He also indicated that perhaps improvement in road infrastructure was a contributory factor, adding that a comprehensive assessment of the development would enable the necessary interventions to be made.
Domestic aircraft movements experienced a drop of 8.2 per cent from 18,000 in 2013 to 16,900 in 2014. However, international air traffic movement improved by 6.1 per cent from 23,473 to 24,871 within the same period.
Board chairman
The Board Chairman of the company, Mr Tony Lithur, said 2014 showed significant growth in operating income. From a net profit of GH¢19.1 million in 2013, the profit increased to GH¢184.1 million in 2014.
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