Sierra Leone's two most frequent international airlines will resume flight to the country today after an indefinite cancellation following the downgrading of the country's airport by the UN civil aviation regulator. The resumption of flights by British Airways and Kenya Airways followed frenetic activities yesterday in the country's aviation industry.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) downgraded Sierra Leone's only functional airport from the borderline of Category 7 to Category 5 because it lacked adequate fire cover.
This prompted British Airways and Kenya Airways to stop their carriers from landing at Lungi.
However, workers at both airlines have confirmed to Politico that they have been asked to resume normal flights today.
The degrading of the country's only functional airport followed the breakdown of one of only two fire engines leaving it without proper fire cover, in the views of ICAO.
The General Manager of the Airports Authority, John FA Sesay said the gearbox system of the fire engine was faulty. A source at the airport told Politico that it had broken down before and that an ICAO delegation had warned in February that it be fixed against 6 March failing which the airport would be downgraded. It was reportedly fixed but broke down days later failing to meet the deadline.
Following the downgrade, and in a bid to remedying the situation, a domestic fire fighting engine was brought in from the National Fire Force. A spokesman of the Airports Authority, Betty Bassie said the engine had been certified by the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority as being able to operate as an aviation vehicle and the airport had resumed normal operations.
The Freetown International Airport itself had suffered long years of neglect made worse by the civil war of the 1990s. But recently it received a significant facelift funded in part by the World Bank which improved its runway and introduced electronic security equipment and radar. The terminal building also received an overhaul.
It is not immediately clear how much the cancellations caused the airport and the airlines. But it led to a lot of discomfort to hundreds of passengers who were scheduled to travel on the carriers.
(C) Politico 11/03/14
