As Logus Embarrasses Koroma … FLY SALONE TURNS ‘GROUND’ SALONE
In less than six months, the much trumpeted flight that
was flying direct from London to Freetown, Fly Salone has been grounded.
The ugly situation has not only embarrassed passengers
but President Ernest Bai Koroma who commissioned the flight when it first
landed at the Lungi international airport with passengers from the United
Kingdom.
The aircraft, reportedly leased from Iceland Air by two
Sierra Leonean businessmen, is a 200-seater passenger plane which according to
the owners, satisfy international safety standards, and will be regularly
flying directly from the United Kingdom to Sierra Leone and back.
Fly Salone is owned by Jihad Saleh and Sam H. Sabrah, and
is reportedly the first registered flight flying the Sierra Leone flag in
recent years.
Passengers that were onboard the flight from London to
Freetown are in dilemma as they did not have money to buy another ticket to go
back while those that have bought ticket in London to come to Freetown are
fighting to take another flight.
Some of the passengers said they thought Fly Salone and
the government Transport and Aviation Ministry are serious to do business that
could not only serve them but their subjects.
When Fly Salone first arrived, Minister of Transport and
Aviation, Leonard BalogunKoroma at the airport explained to journalists that a
direct flight to and from the United Kingdom was good news for Sierra Leoneans,
adding that the management of the airline is 100 percent Sierra Leonean.
"It is a good step for us as a nation to own a
flight and it helps to pave the way for Sierra Leoneans living in the Diaspora
to think of ways to try to invest in the country," he said.
One of the passengers who flew on the maiden flight,
Mohamed Sesay, said Fly Salone which would have been a pride to the nation has
turned out to be a shame as the country cannot boast of an aircraft flying the
national flag.
The same minister that negotiated for Fly Salone is the
same minister that negotiated for the 100 sub-standard Chinese buses which
according to the former ACC Chief, the country could not be able to pay for in
the next five years.
What would be the fate of those passengers who have
already bought ticket is unknown as neither the government nor the owners of
Fly Salone are talking to them.
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