Audit and official findings tracker for Freetown airport bodies

1. 8 May 2006Official finding

   ICAO safety oversight audit

   ICAO audited Sierra Leone from 8 to 12 May 2006 and found the country completely deficient in all eight critical elements audited, SLCAA says ⁵.

2. 2008Official finding

   Placed on the EU Air Safety List

   Sierra Leone was placed on the EU Air Safety List for issuing air operator certificates without meeting international safety and oversight requirements, SLCAA says ⁶.

3. April 2008Historical

   Civil Aviation Authority created

   The Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority was created under the Civil Aviation Act 2008, a step SLCAA links to the 2006 ICAO audit ⁵.

4. 2010Historical

   Ground handler taken over

   Groupe Europe Handling took over Sky Handling Partner Sierra Leone Limited, formerly state-owned, according to a Netherlands Enterprise Agency project record ²².

5. 2016Historical

   Government starts paying for Securiport services

   A later Ministry of Internal Affairs notice said the government had met the cost of Securiport security services since 2016 ¹⁶.

6. April 2017Historical

   US$40 one-way security fee reported

   Business Daily reported a US$40 one-way security fee, collected by airlines at ticket purchase, to pay for security equipment at the main airport ¹⁷. The source does not explain how this fits the 2016 arrangement ^16,17.

7. 29 August 2019Historical

   Civil Aviation Act 2019 signed

   Act No. 7 of 2019 repealed a 2017 Act. Section 32(1)(f) gave SLCAA 3% of the Airports Authority's monthly income after operating and maintenance costs ²³.

8. 26 July 2020Historical

   SLAA bailout repayment agreement

   A repayment agreement was signed for a Le7 billion government bailout to the Airports Authority for second quarter 2020 salaries and operations, the ACC said ⁴.

9. 12 November 2020Historical

   Terminal concession agreement dated

   The build, operate and transfer agreement between the government and Summa Airports (SL) Limited is dated 12 November 2020, the day the sod was turned ⁸.

10. December 2020Official finding

    2019 audit: SLCAA revenue unsupported

    The Auditor General's report on 2019 found no evidence to confirm the accuracy and completeness of Le13.8 billion deposited into the Civil Aviation Authority account ¹.

11. 16 December 2020Historical

    Parliament ratifies the concession

    Parliament ratified the Summa agreement after debate. During the debate Dr Roland Kargbo criticised what he called a huge concession waiver given to the company ⁸.

12. 11 May 2021Historical

    Amended concession ratified

    Parliament ratified an amended version of the agreement meant to remove ambiguities ⁹.

13. December 2021Official finding

    2020 audit: SLAA loans not disclosed

    The Auditor General's report on 2020 noted Le7 billion and Le4.9 billion given to the Airports Authority. Both were not disclosed in the government's financial statements and a comfort letter was not given to auditors ². Its graphic summary said a Le4,071,900,000 Zenith Bank loan was taken without Ministry of Finance approval ¹⁰.

14. 22 March 2022Historical

    Terminal deal terms not fully disclosed

    The Sierra Leone Telegraph reported that the government had not fully disclosed the terms of the Summa project and that it went beyond what Parliament approved the year before ²⁵.

15. 30 March 2022Historical

    ACC response on SLAA loans

    The Anti-Corruption Commission found both funds were used for their intended purposes and the Zenith Bank loan was repaid with interest. It found the Le7 billion bailout not yet repaid and no comfort letter for the bank loan ^4,11.

16. 1 September 2022Historical

    Security fee moved to passengers

    The government stopped paying Securiport a contracted US$40 per passenger, and passengers began paying US$25 directly to the company ¹².

17. December 2022Official finding

    2021 audit: SLCAA revenue not verified

    The Auditor General's report on 2021 could not verify Le41.13 billion of non-tax revenue for the Civil Aviation Authority and received no management response during the audit ³.

18. December 2022Official finding

    2021 audit: SLAA stimulus loan unpaid

    The same report listed a Le7 billion stimulus loan to the Airports Authority with the first repayment due at the end of January 2021, and no documents confirmed any repayment ³.

19. 20 January 2023In force

    Summa takes over airport operations

    A Ministry of Transport and Aviation notice said Summa would take over operations and management of the airport from this day. An editor's note said staff got termination letters 24 hours before ²⁶.

20. 3 March 2023In force

    New terminal commissioned

    President Bio commissioned the new terminal, which State House said cost US$270 million and created no government debt ¹³.

21. 12 April 2023In force

    Civil Aviation Act 2023 signed

    President Bio signed Act No. 27 of 2023, which repeals and replaces the 2019 Act. Its list of SLCAA funds does not include a share of Airports Authority income ²⁴.

22. 29 June 2023In force

    Civil Aviation Act 2023 gazetted

    The Act was published in a supplement to the Sierra Leone Gazette Vol. CLXIV No. 41 ²⁴.

23. Financial year 2024Official finding

    Immigration passport form revenue not traced

    The Auditor-General's graphic summary for 2024 said NLe864,994 from sales of passport application forms through the SMART KORPOR app could not be traced to the Immigration treasury account at the Bank of Sierra Leone ¹⁹. No response was found for this tracker.

24. 5 February 2024In force

    New aviation regulations take effect

    Most Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Regulations, including Part 20B on consumer protection, list this effective date ²⁷.

25. 25 April 2024Announced

    EU list removal roadmap

    SLCAA and the EU Air Safety Committee agreed a roadmap for removal from the list, starting with six to eight months of staff training ⁶.

26. 26 May 2025In force

    Airports Authority states its reduced role

    The Airports Authority website, last modified on this day, says the Summa contract limits it to air navigation services and airport operational compliance ²⁸.

27. 9 January 2026Announced

    Regulator releases 2025 traffic figures

    SLCAA figures showed 268,929 passengers in 2025 against 250,606 in 2024, as reported by Premier Media ²⁹.

28. 11 February 2026Historical

    Regulator trains operators on corrective action plans

    SLCAA held a workshop at Lungi for FIA Limited, Conex SL Limited and Sky Handling Partners on closing gaps found through surveillance, audits and inspections ²⁰.

29. 8 May 2026Historical

    AFCAC aviation security assistance mission ends

    SLCAA said it had concluded an AFI-CES technical assistance mission with African Civil Aviation Commission experts, who reviewed its aviation security guidance and quality control programme ²¹. SLCAA did not list the recommendations ²¹.

30. 20 June 2026Historical

    Immigration audit committee inspects equipment

    The Immigration Department's Audit Committee found the Securiport equipment at the airport in good working order and advised more space for visa sticker machines ¹⁴.

31. 3 July 2026Announced

    Fee suspended pending special audit

    The Ministry of Internal Affairs suspended the US$25 Airport Security Fee to allow a contract review and an ongoing independent special audit by Audit Service Sierra Leone ⁷.

32. 5 July 2026Announced

    No end date for the fee review

    Pan African Visions reported that no completion date was given for the review and that it was unclear whether the fee would be abolished, changed or reinstated ¹⁸.

33. 6 July 2026Suspended

    Suspension takes effect

    The suspension took effect until further notice. The Ministry said it did not end the contract and that Securiport keeps logging passenger data ⁷.

34. 9 July 2026Historical

    Civil society asks for reversal

    The Civil Society Consortium on Internal Security urged the government to reverse its decision to suspend Securiport Sierra Leone Limited's operations, as reported by Premier Media on 9 July 2026 ¹⁵.

35. 22 September 2026Announced

    Airports Authority presents FY2027 budget

    The General Manager presented the Authority's FY2027 budget to the Ministry of Finance, with priorities in training, safety management and air navigation. No figures were published ³⁰.

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