The Deputy Minister of Transport, Alhassan Tampuli, has revealed that numerous Spanish and Italian airlines have submitted applications to initiate direct flights to Accra by the summer of 2024.
These revelations came during an interview with JoyBusiness, which followed an event in Accra commemorating Air France’s 90 years of global operations.
He further clarified that the government is currently evaluating these applications and will make a decision on the subsequent steps in due course.
“We are in the position to disclose the names because Government is still reviewing the applications,” he added.
The Deputy Minister of Transport acknowledged that this development has been driven by the increasing demand for flights to Accra from various global destinations. Ghana has become an appealing destination for these airlines due to certain positive developments within the country.
“One can talk about the Year of Return Programme and Pick up of investor interest in Ghana to explore business opportunities,” the Deputy Minister added.
The Deputy Minister also emphasized the upswing in many airlines expanding their schedules and flight frequency. He attributed this trend to the favorable government policies that have been put in place.
“Ethiopian Airlines is increasing its frequency to 10 flights a week, British Airways is also expected to introduce new schedule flights on Accra-Gatwick Rout in added to the Accra – Heathrow,” the Minister added.
Mr. Tampuli also stated that the government is dedicated to enhancing aviation infrastructure to transform Accra into a regional airline operations hub. Additionally, the Deputy Minister of Transport, Alhassan Tampuli, revealed that significant progress has been made in launching the nation’s planned National Carrier.
“Government has gone into agreement with a private group and signed a shareholding agreement with them and a new company has been incorporated for this New National Carrier,” he added.
The Deputy Minister added “We are now waiting for the kind of Aircraft that they will use, for the Ghana Civil Aviation to inspect them and final license to be issued.”
The Minister was however silent on the timelines for the airline to take off adding that “there are still some due diligence that needs to be undertaken.”