Reduced airfares to Sudan capital due to W Darfur security conditions

An agreement to reduce the airfares between El Geneina and Khartoum has been reached this week due to the “state’s security conditions and lack of paved roads”. According to the settlement, return air tickets connecting the capitals of Sudan and West Darfur will be reduced from 850 to 750 Sudanese pounds (192 and 170 USD respectively), Sudan News Agency SUNA reports. In a joint decision with the civil aviation corporation, West Darfur’s governor Haider Galukoma Ateem said the new tariffs would be valid for one month until the exchange rate of the dollar is stabilized and the airfares are adjusted accordingly. The spokesman of West Darfur’s Legislative Council, Jafar Ismail Mohamed, accused companies of “exploiting security conditions and lack of paved roads in the state for their own financial gains without regard to the conditions of citizens”. According to him, these companies have requested a meeting with the relevant federal government authorities to return the price of the air tickets to their prior fares. Mohamed ShamsuddinTaj Din, chairman of the Council Services’ Committee, inquired the reasons behind the high tickets’ prices. He noted fares for the same distances sometimes cost less than half of what is asked for the El Geneina- Khartoum flights.  Council members stressed the “importance of reaching results that serve the citizens”. Companies that do not take the conditions of West Darfur into account, they said, would be “expelled”. They further stressed the solution to the airfares’ issues lies in the conclusion of the western Ingaz road’s construction, which should happen “as soon as possible”.Photo: Khartoum airport (Radio Dabanga file)