13 airlines ready to operate into reopened Kotoka airport
As the Kotoka International Airport, Ghana, resumes flight operations after months of closure occasioned by the pandemic, thirteen international airlines has expressed their readiness to recommence flight into the West Africa country.
According graphic.com.gh, although some of the international airlines, including Ethiopian, KLM, BA, Emirates and South African Airlines, flew intermittently into the country when the borders were closed, they were mainly on charter basis. They have, however, switched and indicated to the airport authorities their intention to resume scheduled commercial flights, many of them starting from last Monday.
Some of the big names are British Airways, Emirates, Air France, Brussels Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, Egypt Air and KLM. Others are Turkish Airlines, TAP Portugal and Middle East Airlines, with regional airlines such as Africa World Airlines (AWA), Asky and Air Cote d’Ivoire assisting with the short haul routes within the sub-region.
However, the flights per week have been scaled down from the predominantly six to 10 days a week flights to an average of four times a week.
Information from the Ghana Airport Company (GACL) showed that about 22 airlines were operating at KIA before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) broke out in the country on March 12, this year, and the airports were subsequently closed on March 22 as a precautionary measure to curb the spread of the virus.
Among the airlines resuming commercial flights between last Monday and today are Delta Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Tap Portugal, Turkish Airlines, Middle East Airlines and Air Cote d’Ivoire. AWA, which was flying the domestic market when the restrictions there were eased, has also announced scheduled commercial flights to Lagos, Abuja, Freetown, Monrovia and Abidjan from yesterday, doing up to five times a week and three times at the least.Brussels Airlines, in a statement, said it had started its commercial flights between Accra and Brussels yesterday.
“Based on the market demand and the applicable travel restrictions, the airline has designed a reduced schedule, starting with two flights per week. Via its hub in Brussels, Brussels Airlines passengers have access to the rest of the airline’s network, including connections to London, Brussels, Paris, Geneva, Berlin, Frankfurt, Milan and the United States and Canada,” it said.
However, some of the travel and tour operators, car rental companies and shop operators at the airport have welcomed the news, saying it represents hope for their industry and shows that normal life is in sight.
The Sales Manager of Adansi Travels Limited, Mrs Serwaa Boateng-Gbene, in an interview with the Daily Graphic on Thursday, in Accra, welcomed the resumption of business at KIA, describing it as a boost for stakeholders in the industry.
“Without the borders, especially, the airport, we have no business as travel and tour operators technically, although we can move around internally; but we need more international business to survive and so, resumption of business at the airport is welcome news for us and our business,” she said.
Mrs Boateng-Gbene said no amount of words could describe the negative impact of the pandemic and the closure of the airport to the travel and tour business in the country.
“All our businesses for this year have been cancelled. We had an agreement with a university in the United States of America (USA) to bring students on an exchange programme but it was cancelled due to the pandemic. “Last year, for instance, we facilitated about 1,000 clients on various holiday destinations but with almost three months to end of 2020 we have done only 50 clients so far and this is against a target of 1,500 clients this year,” she added.
