By Alhaji Dauda Musa Bangura
Air Senegal which started operations on the 2nd August, 2021 in its bid to promote regional connectivity and to make air transport accessible to Sierra Leoneans has been commended for its intervention and the management of the flight praised. The airline now has a flight operating from Senegal to the Freetown International Airport (FNA), Lungi.
Before now, Sierra Leoneans wishing to travel to Senegal and Senegalese travelers to Sierra Leone were seriously constrained as there was no flight between the two countries.
Senegalese and Sierra Leoneans in Senegal wishing to travel to Freetown had to travel very early in the morning to The Gambia before they could catch a flight to Freetown.
Before the time when the flight was inaugurated the other people travelling from The Gambia to Sierra Leone have to leave their houses at 2am or 3 am to rush to the Banjul International airport in order to reach the Freetown Lungi Airport at 7:15am.
However, with this new flight someone from Senegal needs not to go to the Banjul airport at odd hours.
On the other hand, travelers in Sierra Leone wishing to travel to Senegal were faced with the constraint of traveling all the way to Conakry, Guinea where they were able to catch a flight to Senegal.
One of the first passengers, Alhaji Dauda Musa Bangura (CEO and Managing Editor of The Owl Newspaper) who witnessed the inaugural programme stated that there was a conducted tour of the flight led by the Minister of Transport and Aviation, Kabineh Kallon, followed by the conduction of a Foreign Aircraft Safety Assessment Program (FASAP), which is the normal routine inspection conducted by the SLCAA’s flight operations team in compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 6 of the Chicago Convention.
What moved the first passenger to fall in love with the airline was when the CEO of Air Senegal, Ibrahima Kane, stated while presenting the flight, Air Senegal, that the opening of the route hinges on the common will of the two States, which shared the need to connect the two countries during a State meeting.
The CEO of Air Senegal also stated that: “The introduction of Air Senegal into the Freetown International Airport (FNA) route will facilitate air travel and increase connectivity options to other parts of the world with affordable fares to stimulate growth in traffic and revenues to the potential benefits of the two countries.” He urged citizens of both countries to always access the flight as it has brought about great relief to both countries.
“The Dakar-Freetown service will offer connections via Dakar, to all the destinations already serviced by Air Senegal which are Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Barcelona, Milan, Casablanca, Douala, Libreville, Cotonou, Abidjan, Nouakchott, Banjul, Bissau, Conakry, Praia and Bamako. The CEO added that New York and Washington will join Air Senegal’s destinations in September 2021.”
Indeed, Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to Senegal, His Excellency Alhaji Braima Elvis Koroma, will always be remembered for his rolein supporting such a good initiative that will help boost trade, investment and tourism prospects between Sierra Leone and Senegal.
According to one of the first passengers, Alhaji Bangura, he really enjoyed the friendly disposition of the air hostesses as they served delicious Africa-blend of dishes and drinks that can only be found on board Air Senegal. The flight itself, according to this passenger was smooth and without incidence while the crew along with the air hostesses can only be described as professional, caring, hospitable and dedicated to serving passengers to the best of their ability.
Keep it up and I really hope that Salone will also step up to professional standards in air travel management.
No more begging and economic harassment of passengers. Punctuality, good manners and professionalism will surely help heal our bad reputation as far as air travelling is concern!