High fees making Kigali route costly, say airlines
The East African - Business 11:21
Airline operators in Rwanda have said the Kigali route is too costly
to operate and cite high charges levied by the regulator for landing,
clearance, lighting and parking among other services.
Operators, especially regional airlines claim that the Rwanda Civil
Aviation Authority (RCAA) has imposed the highest landing, take-off
fees in the region making the Kigali route the most expensive.
READ: Airlines in EA brace for a bumpy ride in 2014 as costs soar
For example, RCAA charges Rwf3000 per 1,000 kg for an aircraft of up
to 50,000kg and Rwf3,300 per 1000kg for an aircraft over 50,000kg and
this coupled with other operational costs, are forcing some regional
airlines to abandon direct flights to Kigali.
All helicopters landing on the public aerodromes will be subject to 50
per cent of landing fees while for the use of lighting facilities, at
aerodromes, an additional charge of 50 per cent of the landing fees
will be levied for each landing or take-off made at night when
lighting may be used.
Where take-off may be in 90 minutes of landing the total charge for
both movements will be 50 per cent of the landing fees.
This month, Air Uganda temporarily suspended direct flights from
Kampala to Kigali opting for a code sharing arrangement with RwandAir
citing high costs of operations along this route.
However, there are no international standard aviation charges thus all
airline operators plying the Kigali route have to obey the regulators
set fees.
"Although the charges by the aviation authorities are some of the
highest in the region, every country is free to come up with their
charges and it is up to the operators to obey since we don't have
international standard charges," said Mr Isler Burcin, general manager
of Turkish Airlines.
Mr Isler however, says that different dynamics in different markets
determine the charges that the regulators will levy thus being
inevitable for the East Africa region charging differently from Europe
and America.
Passenger service and security fees at public aerodromes in Rwanda is
another charge that operators find very high and it is already
included in the passenger's ticket.
For international flights, a departing passenger of two years and
above, the operator pays Rwf25,000 ($37) while for a domestic
passenger of the same age the airline pays Rwf5000 ($8).
The passenger fees do not create an exemption for regional travellers
who are subjected to the same amount as international travellers.
However, for clearance fees, Comesa member countries are charged less
where they pay Rwf13, 500 ($20) compared with non-member countries who
are charged Rwf20, 000 ($30).
Regional airlines have lodged their dissatisfaction of the high
charges to Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority in anticipation of the
revision.
READ: High charges keeping away regional airlines
"Rwanda charges the highest aviation fees in this region and we have
talked to the regulators but we don't think that the charges will be
revised downwards anytime soon," said a source from Kenya Airways who
preferred not to be mentioned.
Rwanda has in the past four years attracted major international
airlines such as Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines and South African
Airways, adding to regional operators such as Kenya Airways, Ethiopian
Airline and Air Uganda.
However, most of the airlines have a code share agreement with
RwandAir including South African Airways, Air Uganda while Qatar
Airways has a code share arrangement with RwandAir for short haul
flights.
Tony Barigye, the spokesperson for RCAA did not immediately comment on
the charges but promised to do so later. By press time he had not
commented.
Kigali International Airport (KIA) is increasingly handling a high
number of passenger traffic although cargo business has remained
stagnant.
Last year, Kanombe international airport handled 533,766 passengers,
up from 459,950 registered a year before and this increase is
attributed to more operators flying the country's airspace.
In 2011, the country registered 356,396 passengers compared with
305,441 passengers who went through the airport in 2010.
Rwandair invested $17 million for expanding the current size of the
airport and the expansion is set to be completed in July this year
upon which the airport will handle 1.5 million passengers annually.
http://www.google.ca/gwt/x?gl=CA&hl=en-CA&u=http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/Rwanda/Business/-/1433224/2302128/-/s89ar8/-/index.html&source=s&q=High+fees+making+Kigali+route+costly,+say+airlines&sa=X&ei=CT1lU87xCZaeyATF_YLACg&ved=0CCAQFjAA
--
SIBOMANA Jean Bosco
Google+: https://plus.google.com/110493390983174363421/posts
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9B4024D0AE764F3D
http://www.youtube.com/user/sibomanaxyz999
***Online Time:15H30-20H30, heure de Montréal.***Fuseau horaire
domestique: heure normale de la côte Est des Etats-Unis et Canada
(GMT-05:00)***
| Reply via web post | • | Reply to sender | • | Reply to group | • | Start a New Topic | • | Messages in this topic (1) |
.To post a message: RwandaLibre@yahoogroups.com; .To join: RwandaLibre-subscribe@yahoogroups.com; .To unsubscribe from this group,send an email to:
RwandaLibre-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
_____________________________________________________
More news: http://www.amakurunamateka.com ; http://www.ikangurambaga.com ; http://rwandalibre.blogspot.co.uk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-SVP, considérer environnement avant toute impression de cet e-mail ou les pièces jointes.
======
-Please consider the environment before printing this email or any attachments.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsors:
http://www.afriqueintimites.com; http://www.afriqueintimites.com;
http://www.eyumbina.com/; http://www.foraha.net/
-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.