"Ghana awaits aircraft inspection and final license issuance for national carrier launch"

" Ghana awaits aircraft inspection and final license issuance for national carrier launch \r\n\r\nAccording to the Deputy Minister of Transport, Alhassan Tampuli, plans are far advanced for the country\u2019s proposed National Carrier to take off.\r\n\r\n\u201cGovernment has gone into agreement with a private group and signed a shareholding agreement with them and a new company has been incorporated for this New National Carrier,\" he remarked speaking on the sidelines of the special event commemorating the 90th anniversary of Air France\u2019s global operations.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe are now waiting for the kind of Aircraft that they will use, for the Ghana Civil Aviation to inspect them and final license to be issued,\" the Deputy Minister added.\r\n\r\nThe Minister was however silent on the timelines for the airline to take off adding that, \"there are still some due diligence that needs to be undertaken.\u201d\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, Ghana\u2019s new flagship airline has been hit with delays and some controversy.\r\n\r\nThe Government of Ghana last year\u00a0 announced plans \u00a0to launch a new national airline\u00a0Ghana Airlines\u00a0in 2023.\r\n\r\nGhana\u2019s Finance Minister,\u00a0Ken Ofori-Atta , \u00a0made the announcement in Parliament saying, \u201cShareholders and partnership agreements were signed with the selected strategic partner for the home-based carrier, which will be known as GhanaAirlines. The airline is expected to be operationalized in 2023.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe airline was expected to be launched by June 2023 but so far, there hasn\u2019t been any news and there appears to be some controversy with the deal.\r\n Background \r\nGhana had taken steps to launch its new airlines by awarding\u00a0Ashanti Airlines, and financial backers,\u00a0Zotus Group, a tender to begin operations later this year.\r\n\r\nAshanti Airlines is a subsidiary of the country\u2019s\u00a0Despite Group\u00a0conglomerate with the UK-based Zotus Group describing itself as \u201can organisation dedicated to the development of humanitarian projects and transforming Africa and third world countries\u201d, with a portfolio spanning areas such as hydrocarbons, manufacturing, and agriculture.\r\n\r\nThe airline is planning to start operations with domestic and regional routes, with long-haul services to destinations including\u00a0London Heathrow\u00a0and\u00a0New York\u00a0to follow.\r\n\r\nAlthough the airline was expected to fully launch by Q2 2023,\u00a0 an article by Times Aerospace \u00a0has reported that the group has yet to be awarded its\u00a0Airline Operator\u2019s Certificate (AOC)\u00a0by Ghana\u2019s aviation regulator as of June 2023.\r\n Digging Deeper \r\nGhana has been without a national airline\u00a0 since the collapse \u00a0of Ghana International Airlines in 2010. There had been efforts to restart operations with Ethiopian Airlines and EgyptAir eyed as potential partners.\r\n\r\nThe announcement of Ashanti Airlines as the new carrier appears to have ruffled some feathers especially officials from both Ethiopian and EgyptAir.\r\n Controversy \r\nIn the article by Times Aeropsace, a Ghanaian airline executive, speaking on conditions of anonymity, expressed reservations over the current deal. They stated that Ashanti Airlines had been trying to get its AOC for six years and that his understanding was that the government had made possession of an AOC a prerequisite for being awarded the contract to set up the new national airline.\r\n\r\n\u201cMy understanding from Ghana CAA is that\u2026 they were given instructions by government to help Ashanti produce the [operating] manuals. The CAA was not willing to compromise its standards. The government then said, \u2018Right, if you won\u2019t compromise, sit with them and help them with it\u2019,\u201d \u2013 Anonymous Ghanaian airline executive.\r\n\r\nThe executive added that the Ethiopian Air CEO,\u00a0Tewolde GebreMariam, had stopped communications with the government because of a previous experience of losing a deal to be a strategic partner with the country\u2019s previous flag-carrier, Ghana International Airways.\r\n\r\nThe CEO had reportedly asked for guarantees that would give Ethiopian Air full control but the government pushed back and the deal fell through.\r\n\r\nCurrently, the new Ghanaian Airline is still yet to launch with only two months left in 2023.\r\n\r\n "

"Ghana awaits aircraft inspection and final license issuance for national carrier launch"

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