The Sierra Leone Airports Authority (SLAA) has disclosed that they have reviewed their passenger service charge from US$40 to US$35 which is a charge levied for the provision of basic facilities to enhance passenger comfort within the Terminal Building at the Freetown International Airport.
In presenting their 2019 budget at the Budget Hearings held in Freetown, Financial Comptroller Alimamy A. Turay said that they have however made a projected passenger volume for the year 2018 at 114, 219 indicating a 4% increase over the 2017 actual volume of 110,090. As at July 2018, 66,628 passengers have gone through the airport with a monthly average of 9,518 and an annual projection for 2019 of 117,075 passengers.
Their 2018 annual projection estimate for passengers is stated as follows, Brussels will account for 25,128, Kenya Airways -22,844, Royal Air Maroc -11,422, Air France- 9,138, KLM- 17,133, Turkish Air – 4,569, Air Peace Airline- 7,995, Mauritania Air – 3,427, Africa World-3,427 and Asky- 9,138. There is a charge imposed per imperial gallon on aviation fuel sold to aircraft called Fuel Throughput.
The negotiated and agreed fuel throughput rate between SLAA and Total Oil Company has been US$0.011 per litre. Using the conventional method of computing fuel revenue based on aircraft frequencies and other related parameters, Turay said it would produce unrealistic projections. Therefore the historic data to cover actual fuel-up-lift January to July 2018 has been collated and prorated to 31 December to give rise to the projected revenue for 2019.
Fuel-up-lift for the first seven months in 2018 is 4,037,743 litres and a projection as against 31 December of 6,921,845 litres, an envisaged increase of one percent due to budgeted new operators. Total for 2019 budgeted quantity for 2019 is 6,991,064 using the fixed rate of US$0.011 per litre which is (Le7,165,480 X US$0.011) amounting to Us$78,824.24.
The rate chargeable per every aircraft handled at the airport by the ground handling agent (SHP) which is usually 15 percent of the gross-intake from handling revenues, for the purpose of their 2019 revenue budget the said concession proceeds Turay said will be maintained. The seven months revenue of the 15 percent concessional fee amounted to US$339,640.64 with an actual SHP revenue of US$2,264,270.93.
The Water Taxi Shuttle revenue stream relates to the US$2 charge per passenger shuttling to Freetown using the said service. Disembarked passengers for the seven month period was 60,224 with a monthly average of 8,603, an annual projection of 103,241 and a 2019 projection of 105,306 passengers. Security charge concession per every passenger screened at the airport by West Minister Aviation Services (WASS), gives the SLAA a 10 percent fee from the revenue generated by the service provider. They are projecting to receive in 2019 revenue amounting to US$215,084 for the estimated 117,075 passengers.
Source: awoko.org
