Africa World Airlines ready to use Ho Airport
A Technical team from Africa World Airlines (AWA) has inspected the Ho Airport as it prepares to commence commercial flights to Ho, which it will later link to other parts of the country.
The Chief Safety Officer, Captain Kwasi Oteng, who led the team, said the Ho Airport had been part of the company’s plans to improve their connectivity of the country but they had been waiting for government clearance to enable the airline to start operations.
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Inspection
Speaking to the media in Ho yesterday after the inspection, Capt Oteng said the visit was for the team to evaluate and carry out a feasibility study as well as assess the safety quality of the airport.
AWA, he said, was ready to fly the Accra-Ho route soon, explaining that the only thing delaying the take-off was the fact that the company had not been officially informed that the airport was open for business.
“Since the completion of the airport, the company has not been informed officially that it is commercially available for operation and that is why we are not here,” Capt Oteng said.
Explaining further, he said, by procedure the contractor would hand over the airport to the government which would then alert the local carriers as to the operating hours of the facility, among other things, for the airlines to plan their schedules.
Impressed
According to him, the team, after the inspection, was very much impressed with the infrastructure, the security features and the runway, stating that the airport met the airline’s quality safety operational standards.
However, he said, the availability of the place for business would have to be decided by airport authorities before anything could start.
He said following the visit, the airline would put together their operational and commercial teams to plan the next step of operation in readiness of a government directive.
Viability
On the economic viability of the project, Capt Oteng said the Ho Airport had a huge potential, which included the improvement of productivity and connectivity of the region to other places.
“You will probably get a communique from our commercial department within next week for further information as to our next line of action,” he stated.
Courtesy call
The team also paid a courtesy call on the President of the National House of Chiefs and Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, Togbe Afede XIV, to declare their intentions for the airport.
Development opportunity
Togbe Afede, who is also the Co-Chairman of AWA, said he was elated that the team had visited the airport to explore its profitability, stating that operating scheduled flights to Ho would open up the region for development.
The Agbogbomefia said it would correct assertions that no local airline was ready to operate the Ho route for which reason the airport had not been opened for commercial purposes.
He called on the people in the region to make use of the airport once opened so that its viability would not be in doubt, to spur development.
According to Togbe Afede, the airport “is a tremendous opportunity for the people to put Ho on the international map.”
Emergency needs
The Safety Inspector of Operations of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, Captain Evaristus Cincin Dargbe, said the airport, aside from commercial flights, could also serve the emergency needs of the region, mentioning how useful it had become, especially during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The in-charge of the airport, Assistant Aviation Security Superintendent, Ms. Lucy Adzorxornu, said the airport was ready to be used and that there had been movements on the ground with some flights, including the Airforce aircraft, occasionally plying the route.