Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) Board Chairman, Paul Adom-Otchere, has confirmed a collaboration with Ethiopian Airlines to fly directly from Gatwick to Prempeh 1 International Airport.
He stated that the Prempeh I Airport was recently commissioned as an international airport and features an international terminal with an enlarged runway to accommodate international flights.
He explained that as part of the efforts in operationalising the airport, the company is working with Ethiopian Airlines so air travellers will enjoy direct flights between London (Gatwick) and Kumasi Prempeh I International Airport.
This collaboration introduces a direct flight service aimed at enhancing travel options and convenience for passengers.
Paul Adom-Otchere, speaking at a press briefing organised by the GACL in collaboration with the Ethiopian Airlines and the Ghana High Commission (Sunday, December 1, 2024), said the government tasked the GACL with operationalising the airport to work with African Airlines, including Kenyan Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, and South African Airlines, and they settled on Ethiopian Airlines.
He revealed that Ethiopian Airlines is currently doing chartered flights and that the GACL has booked three flights, with the first flight expected to take off this week.
He said, “By the time we finish these chartered flights, we will be able to arrange a more regular flight situation to Kumasi. This is for the fifth season because we know people are coming back home for the fifth season.He noted that the company wants to come up with more reasonable tickets so that people can come in.
The other point he clarified was that “people who travel know about this IATA policy of origin and destination. That is, when the plane takes off from its destination, it goes to its origin. So any plane that takes off anywhere goes to its home country… So people were asking this Ethiopian airline, based on that, is it going to take off from London and go to Adis Ababa and come to Kumasi? The answer is no because, under the IATA protocols, when a plane is coming to a certain destination, that destination has the same number of flights to the origin.
So ten flights come out of London to Accra each week; three of them come out of Gatwick and seven of them come out of Heathrow. So in the IATA context, Ghana has the same to flee seven times to Hethrow and three times to Gatwick. So Ethiopian Airlines is operating under the Ghana Civil Aviation Rights from London straight to Accra. It’s being operated by Ethiopian Airlines. So it is not going to Adis. It is operating Ghana Civil Aviation Rights because British Airways come in. In the future, we can also take a plane from Kumasi, New York, where Delta goes because we have a reverse flight. They can also go to Washington, DC, in Dallas, where United goes. It can go to Amsterdam, where KLM goes.
He noted that Ghana Civil Aviation generally operates ten flights to London and that if we have additional planes, they can make them operational.
“So this flight is a direct flight from Gatwick, which is picking from the three that we have from Gatwick. That means we have three back to Gatwick and seven to Heathrow. We are staring at the Gatwick one. It is picking from Gatwick straight to Kumasi.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
