Media executive and the Chief Operations Officer of Plugin Media, Francis Doku, has re-ignited the conversation on the need for Ghana to get an airline.
According to him, the government’s resolve to boosting tourism will be more impactful if it expedites the move to establish an airline for the country.
“Airlines help to drive tourism as much as possible. Even the smallest countries have airlines – Seychelles, a country of hundred thousand people have an airline because they’ve really invested in that. Botswana, I mean recently AFCON, it’s Ivorian Airways that is carrying people. They had issue some time but they recovered. So that conversation has to come. The national flag has to be flown again,” he told Kwame Dadzie on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z.
In September 2022, it was announced that plans were far advanced for the establishment of an airline for Ghana. Later, the government of Ghana announced its intentions to launch the carrier in 2023 but it did not happen.
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The new Ghanaian flag carrier, to be known as Ghana Airlines Limited, was supposed to have started work in the third quarter of 2023. Information indicated that it would start flying domestically, before later hitting the skies internationally.
At a press conference in Accra, the Transport Minister Kwaku Asiamah Ofori said the airline had satisfied all the requirements and was ready to take off.
“It is well grounded and all the requirements have been satisfied. They are going to launch their logo, my information is that by the end of April or May, they will start selling their tickets. And by June-July, you will see a national airline-Ghana Airlines flying in the air. Insha Allah it shall be well,” he said.
This role was previously served by Ghana Airways, which operated from 1958 to 2004. Debts and a ban from the US spelled grounded the operations of the airlines. Ghana International Airlines then took over as the national carrier from 2005 to 2010.
