Officials of Gambia Civil Aviation Authority  have defended the new US$20 levy on air travellers.

An airport official Fabakary Kalleh told state broadcaster GRTS that “we don’t have so much flights coming and we relied on collections from passengers landing fees. So it has affected our revenue base.”

Mr Kalleh said since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic hits The Gambia in March, that “the airspace is closed so we only having evacuation flights.”

“When you pay to travel, in the air ticket there are several levies you pay but they’re included in the tickets,” he added

However, the new levy sparks growing anger among Gambians at home and abroad as well non Gambians who say it would deter many travellers from visiting the country. 

Reporting by Adama Makasuba