Air fares to rise in Ghana due to new airport tax

The prices of airline tickets are expected to shoot up from Tuesday March 1, when the new airport tax takes effect.

The prices of airline tickets are expected to shoot up from Tuesday March 1, when the new airport tax takes effect.

The increase was contained in the 2011 Budget Statement and approved by Parliament last year.

Per the new increase, passengers who patronize economy, business and first class during international travel will have to cough up $100, $150 and $200 respectively from the earlier charge of $75 dollars.

Passengers within the sub region have not been exempted from the increase. Their trip will attract an extra $10 and will now pay $60. Domestic travelers prior to the increase were charged one Ghana cedis but will now have to pay five Ghana cedis.

A further increase in air fares has also been predicted by analysts as airlines will seek to increase ticket prices in response to rising oil costs following the unrest in Libya. Prices of oil however retreated from yesterdayโ€™s multi-year highs amid optimism producers could offset a drop in supply caused by unrest in Libya. Brent crude is trading at $112.65 a barrel, after almost breaking through the $120 mark in the previous session. US light crude is at $97.49 a barrel having surged past $100.

Reports suggest Saudi Arabia has increased its oil production by almost 10% to offset production shortages resulting from the unrest. Reuters news agency quoted an oil industry source as saying that Saudi Arabia had increased production by 700,000 barrels a day to more than 9 million a day in total. At the same time, the IEA said that Libyan production had been less affected than many observers had first forecast.

Meanwhile global stock markets gained ground after the threat of rocketing oil prices receded. Leading European markets Paris and Frankfurt were up about 0.5% in early trading but that of London was suspended due to a technical fault.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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