Eclipse did not affect flight schedules at KIA

Accra, March 29, GNA - Flight schedules at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) were not affected by today's solar eclipse because the event did not affect visibility.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, (GNA) in Accra Mrs Lawrencia Agyepong, Acting Head of Public Relations, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, said all the necessary precautions were taken to ensure that events at the airport, especially aircraft movement, went on.

She said two flights by the Bellview and Chan Changi Airlines landed at the airport during the period of the eclipse without incident, adding that the event could in no way affect aircraft movement. Mr Juati Ayi Lari, Head of the Meteorological Services Department at the KIA, said maximum temperature levels would be lower than normal today (Wednesday March 29, 2006) since the amount of heat reaching the earth would be considerably reduced because of the eclipse. He said temperatures would however return to normal by tomorrow, (Thursday March 30, 2006), adding that this was the only effect of the eclipse.

Mr Lari noted that there was nothing extra-ordinary about the event, adding that it was as normal as any other natural occurrence. A cross section of Airlines interviewed by the GNA also confirmed that the event neither affected flight operations nor passenger bookings. Most commercial vehicles on the Accra-Airport and the Madina-Adenta routes however were missing until the end of the eclipse leaving the roads empty until almost mid-day.

A number of drivers told the GNA that whereas passengers would normally be found even at dawn, one could hardly find any passenger as late as 0830 hours this morning.