Africa-Press – Liberia. Options for traveling directly to or out of Liberia to Europe are becoming narrow as Air France gears up to pull out by April, SN Brussels would be the only option for a direct flight to Europe.
Earlier this month, Air France disclosed that based on the economic performance, the current geopolitical situation, and Air France-KLM’s overall plan to restore its profitability, the airline has decided to suspend its flights to Monrovia, Liberia, as of the end of April 2022.
“Customers already booked on flights after the end of April will be informed individually. The customers concerned can change their travel plans or cancel the trip and request a refund,” the airline stated in a press release.
Currently, ASKY, Africa World Airlines, Air Cote D’Ivoire, SN Brussels, Royal Air Maroc and Air France are the only flights flying to Liberia. Of these, only Air France and SN Brussels fly to Europe – their respective capitals.
FrontPageAfrica
gathered that Royal Air Maroc has not made any trip to Monrovia since its unfortunate encounter at the Roberts International Airport. It can be recalled that on February 21 at about 4 AM, Royal Air Maroc flight AT565 had to abort a landing when the lights at the airport and the runway suddenly went out just before the plane could touch the ground.
This means that passengers from Liberia may have to travel to other African countries like Ghana, especially, to connect on flights to Europe and other parts of the world. This would also mean a huge revenue loss for the Roberts International Airport.
At the same time, the management of the RIA has announced a daily shutdown of the airport at 12 midnight to allow an electronification implementation work plan that will run about six to 10 months beginning April this year.
The management stated that it intends to upgrade its electricity supply by inter-connecting to the national power grid which is currently under construction to ensure stable, uninterrupted power to customers.
The airport management also lamented the impact of the 50km Robertsfield Road construction on access to the airport by staff and passengers, especially during the early morning hours. The current two-lane highway is noted for recording some of the nastiest accidents. With the ongoing expansion to four lanes, it is expected that the road would be a superhighway.
Air Maroc and Asky Airlines are among flights that land at the RIA at about 4-5 AM on their schedules. By this, passengers have to be ready for check-in no later than 4 AM. This also means they must travel the extremely dark and dangerous highway during the ungodly hour to catch their flight.
“…considering the proposed electrification implementation work plan, the airport power supply will be shut down for related installation and construction works between 0100Z to 0600Z daily. The timeframe for construction, installation, transmission, and distribution is 6 – 10 months, depending on weather and logistics. The work is scheduled to commence on April 24th, 2022,” the airport management stated.
It added, “We wish to request your good office, in the spirit of partnership, to consider readjusting your flight schedule (slot time) to ROB, preferably any time before midnight. This adjustment will allow the airport to effectively and efficiently provide uninterrupted services to you and all our customers while maintaining safety standards.”
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