Feeling the Pinch: Golden Wing Airline Shuts Operations across South Sudan

A plane from South Sudan's airline company Golden Wings Aviation. [Photo| Golden Wings S. Sudan]

By Jacob Achiek Jok

BOR, 25 May 2016 [Gurtong] - The airline’s official Kuot John Akech told Gurtong that the firm has so far lost 80 percent of its income over the rising dollar rates.

The ticket costs have risen from 900 South Sudanese Pounds to 2,000 South Sudanese Pounds, hence scaring away potential travelers.

The firm has also attributed its economic impasse to high fuel costs and non-payment by the national government.

“We are on our knees now because the national government that we have been working with very well has not paid us for our services,” said the firm’s Bor director Lazarus Ayuel.

“The government chartered our planes but has not paid for the same. We have been promised payment but so far nothing has been received,” he said.

He mentioned the other affected routes as Wau, Asmara, Nairobi and Cairo, adding that they have been forced to take larger planes back to South Africa.

“We now only have smaller aircrafts that carry between 50 and 70 passengers as we cannot afford to maintain the larger planes,” said Ayuel.