Airlines in Ghana using the Terminal Three facility at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) will from March 1, 2019, pay $5 per hour for using the counter at the facility.
This new fee is referred to as the Check-in Counter fee. The Ghana Airport Company wrote a letter to the airline companies to inform of this development.
The Ghana Airport Company has also sent a letter to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as a notice to the international community.
The Check-in Counters are the counters used by the airlines to verify passengers passports, tickets and luggage.
Going by this new fee means that an airline company that uses three counters for three hours a day will now pay at least $9000 dollars every month. This is a cost that will definitely be passed on to passengers.
Meanwhile, airline companies in Ghana have been complaining about what they describe as the high cost of operation in the country. The airlines say they are charged an additional hourly charge of $120 for using the aerobridges and the rent of office space at the airport is also high.
Although other airports in various countries charge the Check-in Counter, some airline companies in the country believe the $5 is too much and want it slashed by 50%.
Country Manager for South African Airways, Gloria Wilkinson Mensah told Accra-based Citi FM that “Usually the airport has consultations with the airlines on fees that are introduced. We have received a notification as such. Counter fees in principle is a practice that applies in most of our airports even around our West Africa region. But it is being introduced now at Terminal 3 which comes as an additional cost to the airlines which is why we want to see if it can be reduced,” She said the operators will meet in the coming days to discuss the matter and also schedule a meeting with management of the Ghana Airport Company for renegotiations.”
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