Kumasi attracts regional flights

Indigenous and regional airlines are in discussions with airport authorities about operating flights out of the Ashanti regional capital Kumasi to other within the West Africa sub-region.

The airlines have expressed interest in operating flights between Kumasi-Lagos; Kumasi-Abuja; and Kumasi-Abidjan.

Kwadwo Abrefa Sarkodie, Ghana Airports Company Limited’s Kumasi Airport Manager said: “I am aware that management is in discussion with some of the regional operators who have expressed interest in using Kumasi as their base for their regional operations. We are just hoping that it is a matter of time; pretty soon we are likely to get carriers who will do regional operations from Kumasi to say Lagos, Abuja, and Abidjan”.

Mr. Sarkodie, speaking on the sidelines of the maiden Africa World Airlines’ inter-regional flight between Kumasi and Tamale said: “The decision of government is to have an airport in all regional capitals. Once the Kumasi-Tamale route is developed, we are ready to encourage and partners with any other carrier that is ready to develop any of the new routes.

“The new route is going to facilitate trade between Kumasi and Tamale. Until recently, when people had to go to Tamale from Kumasi by air they had to connect through Accra. This makes it quite expensive and inconvenient. The new route will facilitate business between the two cities. For us, we giving opportunity for the travelling public to connect easily. This is likely to increase our bottom line because passenger numbers are likely to go up.”

Passenger throughput from Accra to other regional airports in Ghana has been relatively poor since the introduction of a 17.5 percent VAT in mid-2015.

This, compounded by suspension of Antrak Airlines and Fly 540 for various reasons, curtailed the number of passengers travelling by air from Accra to Takoradi, Kumasi, Sunyani and Tamale.

AWA’s new route is expected to help stem the rate of passenger throughput decline, and encourage air travel between Kumasi and Tamale.

Richard Kyereh, Deputy Head of Commercial-AWA said: “This is part of our strategic plan for the year. We have realised that there is a massive demand between Kumasi and Tamale. We are very confident that this new route will provide a reliable and safe travelling experience for passengers at a competitive price.

“We have plans to commence operations from Kumasi for Lagos. Very soon, we will launch our operations from Kumasi to Lagos. We have many routes in our strategy, and they will be rolled out in phases. Our existing schedule remains intact. Our regional flight from Accra to Lagos also remains the same. We are pleased to be expanding our services on these routes and providing our passengers with a direct link between these two great and historic cities in Ghana.”

AWA’s new service seeks to serve the numerous traders and students that commute between the Ashanti Region and Northern Region respectively, who for a long time have been deprived of such opportunity despite the huge market demand.

With this service passengers no longer need to fly to Accra before connecting to Kumasi or Tamale, but will rather connect seamlessly to/from Kumasi or Tamale, the airline noted in a statement.

“It is our vision to be the preferred choice for air travel in Ghana and other operating markets; through safety, reliability, effective customer service, and affordability.

“We are always looking for new ways to raise standards in the air transport industry of Ghana, and we are also committed to investing in the communities we serve on the ground. This new route will act as a bridge for trade, commerce and cultural exchanges between the cities of Kumasi and Tamale,” he noted.