The director general of The Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has encouraged government of The Gambia to effusively support the establishment of a Gambian-based airline.
This, he said, will not only help tremendously in transporting goods processed here but will also further open up the country’s economy.
Abdoulie E. Jammeh was speaking recently during the inauguration of a multi-million dalasi cargo complex at the Banjul International Airport (BIA).
“It is an open secret that a vibrant home-based carrier positively contributes to the socio-economic advancement of a country. A few cases in point are Dubai (UAE) and Singapore, small and relatively poor countries years ago where successful home-based carriers – Emirates and Singapore Airlines respectively have succeeded in opening up their countries to trade, tourism etc. leading to rapid social and economic development within a short span of time”
The example of these two big global players, he added, is a solid illustration of the cliché “a country may be physically small but can be a big state”. He continued, “If The Gambia is to exploit the opportunities presented by this state-of-the-art cargo complex; we must also continue to collaborate in order to produce integrated solutions.”
DG Jammeh thus urged government and other relevant stakeholders to continue working with GIA so that the country can reap the enormous benefits of this complex which will consequently have positive effects in the country’s air transport and trade industries as well as the economy as a whole.
“Furthermore, considering the evolving nature of threats to global aviation and stringent requirements regarding cargo security, this complex will not only avail GIA opportunities for enhanced processing leading efficiency of cargo handling operations, it will also ensure that we maintain a high level of security and safety in line with our international obligations. This is crucial in our bid to stay connected to the world in the area of air transport,” he added.
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I applaud the comments and the sentiment expressed by Mr. Jammeh. Many countries in Africa ‘want’ their own airline; however, there is no ‘one’ person, no ‘group’ of persons, no company and no government agency – capable – of creating and operating an airline for sustainable profit.
Virtually any person, with a staggering amount of ‘taxpayer’ money, can START an airline. The historic reality is operating that airline at a profit…without…endless subsidies. It has NEVER been done in Africa. Every single airline company which was created in Africa has failed financially – EVERY SINGLE ONE.
Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways and South African Airways…have experienced varying degrees of sustained profitability – but even those airlines – have burned up VAST sums of ‘taxpayer’ money in their efforts to stay in business.
Gambia will become another ‘statistic’ – because there is no airline expertise in Gambia. If only these folks would ask for help – there is an abundance of technical and business acumen available to ANY interested party in ANY country on the continent.
I will wager that Gambia will NOT ask for help…with this question: “Will you help us…and show us…the way to build an operate a PROFITABLE airline”.