Domestic Flights Attract High Patronage

PATRONAGE OF domestic airlines has shot up, Doreen Owusu-Fianko, Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) has said.

In an interview following her outfit’s annual general meeting recently, Mrs Owusu-Fianko told CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE that domestic airlines were doing incredibly well as a result of improved management structures and the continual training of their staff.

She said City Link and Antrak Air currently led the list of airline operators that were doing very well with their frequent flights from the Kotoka International Airport to other parts of the country.

From November to December 2011, patronage of domestic flights in Ghana shot up to 12,000 and it is on record that January witnessed high support.

The MD continued that the Accra-Kumasi route was making an average of 4,000 passengers but presently, it had 12 frequencies (flights) a day.

“Tamale, as well, used to have only one flight a day but now there are two flights to Tamale every day,” she noted.

Mrs Owusu-Fianko noted that there was a new airline which was expected to be ready before the end of this year.

Passengers used to complain about the exorbitant fares charged by the two airlines but Mrs Owusu-Fianko pointed out that currently fares had been reduced. “There is no major problem with the operations of the domestic airlines, hence the increase in the patronage.”

Mrs Owusu-Fianko, commenting on the country’s international airports, reiterated that apart from the proposed Tamale airport, the Kumasi’s international airport had been confirmed.

She noted that every regional capital, by their plan, was supposed to have an airport.

She said plans were far advanced for Takoradi to get a new airport, which was expected to be for intercontinental flights.

According to Mrs Owusu-Fianko, the separation from Civil Aviation had helped GACL a lot as there was currently no redundancy.

On airport lands and encroachment, she explained that the Lands Commission had written to them, informing them they had the right to the lands.

However, she said there were a few corrections that the company had to do as the Lands Commission was working on the certificates, adding that the company was expected to get the certificate any moment from now.