The Aviation Sector Advisory Board and the immediate past Aviation Minister, Joseph Kofi Adda, have held a meeting to take stock of happenings in the aviation sector over the past four years.
The Board, which has been instrumental in the many reforms undertaken in the aviation sector, following the re-establishment up of the Ministry of Aviation, is made up of professionals in aviation and allied sectors.
“Ghana’s air transport industry enjoys strong government support, which is a crucial determinant for the aviation sector’s ability to maintain an ICAO compliant regulatory framework and to achieve accelerated sustainable growth of the sector in the years ahead. The potential in the industry is very big and there is so much more to be done in the next four years,” Mr Adda noted.
Under the leadership of Joseph Kofi Adda, Ghana’s Kotoka International Airport was adjudged the best airport in West Africa and the fourth best in the World by the Airport Council International (ACI) Africa. The country moved from 6th last year to 4th in the West African ranking.
The hosting of the 28th Airports Council International (ACI) Conference in Accra last year, marked a return of the sector to the high table of aviation globally.
The Adda-led ministry also pushed for reforms and growth in the sector with measurable results. Ghana obtained a provisional Effective Implementation (EI) rate of 89.89 percent, the highest by an African country, after the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) concluded its Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) on April 3, 2019, in line with the United Nations aviation agency’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP).
One of the most important reforms undertaken by the Kofi Adda-led Aviation Ministry is the setting up of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB). The Bureau will be responsible for investigating all aviation-related incidents and accidents in the country.
The setting up of the specialised agency will prevent the current situation where the aviation industry regulator, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), is heavily involved in investigating incidents and accidents involving operators that it regulates.
For instance, the regulator was key in investigating the Allied Air accident in 2012, the Antrak Air incident in 2013, and the Starbow Airlines incident in 2017.
Aside curing the conflict of interest in the current investigative process, establishing an independent accident investigation body was one of the key recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) after a recent assessment and is in line with best practice for regulators not to investigate such incidents themselves.
The bureau is also responsible for investigating aircraft incidents and accidents in the oceanic region within the Accra Flight Information Region.
On-ground infrastructure to accelerate the growth of the sector was also accelerated. They include the construction of a new terminal building at Kumasi, Sunyani, and Tamale. The completion of the Wa Airport, and conducting of feasibility studies on proposed airport in Cape Coast, Yendi, Mole, and Navrongo were also undertaken.
