The Minister for Aviation, Joseph Kofi Adda has revealed that government will put in place some incentives for domestic airline operators to take their operating routes to newly constructed airports in the country, both in Wa and Ho.
In an interview with Goldstreet Business at the sidelines of the 6TH Annual General Meeting of Ghana Airport Company Limited on Tuesday in Accra, the Minister said “we have to try and talk to them and understand what their worries are and make sure that whatever information they need to make that business decision is provided”.
Adda said that operations in both Wa and Ho depend on the business capacities of airlines.
“If they feel there are enough passengers to go to those areas, they will go. But, if they don’t think there will be enough passengers and they are not going to make money, then there is no point for them to go there,” he explained.
Airline Operators
Currently, there are only two domestic airline operators in the country, that is, Africa World Airline (AWA) and Passion Air. Three more operators are expected to start operating before the end of this year.
“As more domestic airlines come into play, we would be able to encourage them to develop routes to the Wa and Ho airports,” said John Dekyem Attafuah, Managing Director, GACL, adding that, these facilities could go rusty due to lack of usage and it will be expensive to refurbish them.
Wa and Ho Airports
The Wa airport has a 2,000-meter long and 45-meter-wide runway, a terminal building, airside (runway and apron, among others) and terminal building and car park, among others.
The project formed part of government’s efforts to develop an aerodrome in each of the regions to serve as a catalyst for the industrialization and rapid socio-economic development of the Upper West Region.
This follows the completion of work to boost economic activities and tourism in the Volta Region
The US$25 million Ho Airport project has a 1,900-metre runway, traffic control tower, 1,150 capacity passenger waiting area, an ultramodern air bus terminal and an automatic fire detection system. This was funded by the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL).
By Joshua W. Amlanu