Turkish Airlines has expressed its interest in partnering with Ghana to establish a national airline.
This follows the government of Ghana’s decision to establish a new national airline to tap into the current growth in the aviation sector.
It however brings to four the number of the airlines that have expressed interest in the project.
Mahmut Yayla, Turkish Airlines’ Vice President Sale, North Europe, speaking to some journalists at the airline’s headquarters, said that: “We are open on this project (partnering Ghana’s government to establish an airline) and our board will decide.”
The project is being led by Ghana’s Aviation Ministry, under a public-private-partnership (PPP) arrangement in order to realize the vision of making Ghana an aviation hub in the sub-region.
Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines this year has launched flights to various destinations around the world, including Moroni, the capital of the Union of the Comoros in Africa.
At the end of 2017, the airlines’ load factor was 79.1 percent. In addition to this, the seat occupancy rates on its newly launched routes were very satisfactory.
The total number of passengers carried by national flag carrier Turkish Airlines rose 17.8 percent to reach 35.6 million in the first half of 2018, compared to the same period last year.
The carrier’s load factor — seat occupancy rate — rose 2.6 percent points to reach 79 percent in June, while it climbed 4.3 percentage points to reach 80.4 percent during the January-June period.
International-to-international transfer passengers increased in both June and the first half of 2018, 0.7 percent and 11 percent, respectively.
The airliner also carried cargo mail of over 660,000 tons in the first half, up 27.7 percent over the first half of 2017.
Last year, it carried 68.6 million passengers with a 79.1 percent seat occupancy rate.
Turkish Airlines, founded in 1933 with a fleet of five aircraft, currently has nearly 330 aircraft, including passenger and cargo planes.
It flies to 304 destinations, including 255 international and 49 domestic destinations.
Credit: AviationAfricaNews.com
