More Problems For GhanaAir: Pilots On Strike

Pilots at bankrupt Ghana Airways went on strike Thursday, in a move that threatened to disrupt flights to Britain and the United States

Pilots at bankrupt Ghana Airways went on strike Thursday, in a move that threatened to disrupt flights to Britain and the United States

The eight striking pilots are protesting what they call mismanagement of the debt-crippled national carrier, which was declared bankrupt last week.

They have asked Transport Minister Richard Anane to remove two senior company officials, including acting Chief Executive Officer Kofi Kwakwa. They have said they will not return to work until their demands are met.

Flights along the west coast of Africa to Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone were not affected by the strike.

There were no scheduled flights to Britain or the United States on Thursday but Friday's weekly flight to Britain could be affected.

Ghana Airways operates two flights each week to the United States, on Mondays and Wednesdays. There are also two flights each week to Britain, on Fridays and Sundays.

The 42-year-old airline has five aircraft aged between 18 and 27 years. The company employs 1,400 people, including 16 pilots. Since it was declared bankrupt, flights have frequently been canceled or delayed.

"Enough is enough, we are tired of the mismanagement, its demoralizing," Capt. Joe Kubi, a spokesman for the striking pilots, told The Associated Press.

Like many other national carriers on the continent, Ghana Airways has suffered an increasingly negative reputation for inefficiency and mismanagement.

The Sept. 11 attacks in the United States also dealt the company a blow, costing the carrier a big drop in passengers.

The airline's board of directors was reconstituted last May.

Chairman Sam Jonah, who also acts as chief executive of Ashanti Goldfields Co., embarked on a program of stringent salary, allowance and staff cuts in a bid to save the firm from collapse but he was forced to declare it bankrupt last week.

"We've been doing our best to turn the situation around but the results are very slow," he said.

Ghana Airways owes a total of dlrs 127 million to international agencies and its domestic debt runs into billions of cedis. Its creditors include the International Air Transport Association, JFK International Airport, and partner airlines.

A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Thursday the government had received some offers for the ailing carrier and was weighing the options. He gave no details of the offers.