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| New Airlines Coming |
5/28/2011 |
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Collins Dauda, Minister of Transport, has noted that new airlines are expected to commence operations in Ghana soon.
Making this known recently in Accra during the 25th Anniversary celebration of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), he said: “Currently, we have about 30 airlines operating and we are expecting about four more.” He therefore urged domestic carriers to take advantage of the liberalized regime and offer keen competition on the international routes.
Alhaji Dauda also called on the board, management and staff of GCAA to make the necessary legal provisions that will take care of the burgeoning oil and gas industry. According to him, government was prepared to refurbish the country’s domestic airports, particularly the Kumasi and Sunyani airports, to enhance domestic air transport services, adding, plans were underway to upgrade the Tamale Airport into an alternate international airport.
According to him, government was taking a broader view of facilitating air transport beyond the activities of border control.
These are undertaken by the Customs, Excise & Preventive Service (CEPS), the Ghana Immigration Service, among others, to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers in line with government’s policy to promote tourism as a major foreign exchange earner.
“Government will continue with its policies to liberalize the regulatory framework of GCAA, the expansion of infrastructure, institutional and human resources strengthening, as it continues to constantly review its bilateral agreements with African countries in line with the Yamoussoukro Decision,” he continued.
He furthermore noted that the Ministry of Transport, in collaboration with GCAA and the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL), will continue the Phase III of Rehabilitation Project of the Kotoka International Airport.
He said the record of aviation safety in the Flight Information Region (FIR) was tremendous and unpararelled on the African continent as a result of the hard work of GCAA.
Air Cdre Kwame Mamphey, Director-General of GCAA, in a speech, said although GCAA has faced many challenges, it has nonetheless chalked significant successes.
“The Accra Flight Information Region (Accra Fir), which comprises the airspaces of Ghana, Togo and Benin, is considered to be one of the safest air spaces on the continent.
This is due to the fact that we have continuously invested in upgrading our technology and in our human capital to achieve this enviable goal”.
Air Cdre Mamphey further said currently GCAA, as part of efforts to improve communication with oceanic traffic, has acquired the ADS-C/CPDLC to be installed by the end of June, this year.
He however cited the high cost of training staff and technology as major challenges.
In a related development, Doreen Owusu-Fianko, Managing Director of Ghana Airports Company Limited, has stated that her outfit is working at getting airlines operating in South America into Ghana.
According to her, there were no airlines flying from the South American continent to the country and therefore the 2014 FIFA World Cup offers the opportunity for her outfit to get airlines from Brazil when it hosts the event.
She was speaking on GTV’s ‘Talking Point’ recently.
She cited some major airlines in the South American region as TAM and Gol from Brazil and Avianca in Colombia.
Others are LAN Airlines from Chile and Aerolíneas Argentinas from Argentina.
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