Harmattan to force more flight diversions

The severe harmattan that has hit Ghana and some other African countries has resulted in flights diverting to other countries for safe landing.

Airlines from Nigeria are the worst hit.

Interestingly, domestic flights have not been affected.

The situation might even get worse in the coming days as the Ghana Airports Company is expecting more flights to divert.

The Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company, Yaw Kwakwa, said despite the diversion of flights, the airport will not allow its facility to house many airlines beyond the required capacity.

“There have been diversions from Nigeria, precisely from the Murtala Mohammed Airport. The diversions started from Tuesday. We had four on Tuesday. Are we more likely to see more diversions? … Yes”, he said

Mr Kwakwa added: “The reasons for diversions are poor visibility at the Lagos Airport – the fact that the instrument direction system is not working.”

Mr Simon Allotey, Director of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, for his part, said very high lenses have been installed in Kumasi and the Tamale Airports in particular, to support the visibility situation there.