4th Aviation Ghana Stakeholders Meeting: Transport Minister charges airlines to provide safe, comfortable flights for passengers

The Minister for Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah was a special guest on Tuesday, January 31, for the 4^th Aviation Ghana Stakeholders Meeting held in Accra at the Holiday Inn Hotel.

Delivering his speech, the Minister charged airlines that operate in the country to make it a priority to provide safe, reliable, and comfortable flights for passengers.

“Customer service delivery is very important in the airline industry and I will entreat all the airlines to provide safe, reliable, and comfortable flights to their passengers. They should always remember that the Passenger comes First,” Kwaku Ofori Asiamah said in his address.

During his speech, the Transport Minister acknowledge the challenges facing the aviation industry especially while recovering from the ravages of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Minister used the opportunity to thank stakeholders for displaying resilience throughout these tough times and gave the assurance that the government through his Ministry will continue to support industry players in any way possible.

“Government on its part will continue to create the enabling environment to encourage and expand domestic airline operations across the country.

“I would like to take this opportunity to commend Aviation Ghana for organising this forum,” Kwaku Ofori Asiamah said.

At the 4th Aviation Ghana Stakeholders Meeting, several issues were discussed with a focus on post covid 19 recovery process and the journey ahead; the commissioning of the Tamale and Kumasi airports, as well as the way forward for the industry.

In a welcome address before the Minister delivered his speech, Eloina Baddoo, the Chairperson of the Board of Airline Representatives, Ghana, the umbrella body for airlines operating in Ghana stressed that her outfit is excited that it is able to hold the Breakfast Meeting this year after a three-year break.

She lauded industry players for the various roles that keep aviation in Ghana working to support the economy.

“Let’s prioritise customers and keep them at the heart of every decision we take in our operations.

“Let’s embrace technology and make travel stress-free and safe,” Eloina Baddoo admonished airlines.

In a video address at the meeting, IATA's Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, Mr. Kamil Alawadhi implored the government of Ghana not to increase charges for airlines because other countries are doing the same.

He emphasised that the Ghana government has been very supportive of the Aviation Industry over the years and must now more than ever cushion the industry and its players to help in the recovery process after the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Now is not the right time to be raising charges. Ghana must resist the temptation of increasing charges. Such an increase can affect Ghana as a travel destination,” Mr. Kamil Alawadhi shared.

He entreated players in Ghana’s Aviation Industry to do more to stay resilient, adding that it will be key in the process of recovery to reduce the losses incurred in the last few years when Covid struck.

The meeting had a panel session where Mr. Charles Kraikue, Director-General of Ghana Civil Aviation Authority; Madam Pamela Djamson-Tettey, Managing Director, Ghana Airports Company Limited and J. N. Halm, Customer Service Expert, as well as Samuel Ato Hagan; Managing Director of Passion Air, spoke on various issues.

The 4th Aviation Ghana Stakeholders Meeting was organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport and the Board of Airline Representatives, Ghana (BARGH).

The Programme was sponsored by Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, and RwandAir with support from Ghana Airports and powered by Aviation Ghana.