We are going to provide emergency airstrip in regions without airports — Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to construct airstrips in regions without airports to improve emergency air access and facilitate urgent medical evacuations.

Western North Region, which currently has no operational commercial airport, is expected to benefit from the proposed infrastructure.

The President announced the initiative during a courtesy call by chiefs from the Western North Region, explaining that the facilities would provide landing sites for aircraft during emergencies.

He said the government intended to ensure that regions without existing airports had basic aviation infrastructure to accommodate aircraft when urgent situations arose.

“We are going to provide an airstrip in every region that does not already have an airport. Sometimes there are emergencies, and sometimes medical evacuations are necessary. At the moment, some regions do not have landing sites for aircraft.

“Regions that already have airports are covered, but those without airports will receive landing strips. They will be about two kilometres long and will have a small control office so that aircraft can land in the region in an emergency. Western North will be one of the beneficiaries,” he stated.

President Mahama said the planned airstrips would be approximately two kilometres long and equipped with a small control office to support aircraft operations.

He explained that regions with existing airports would not require additional facilities under the initiative, as the focus would be on areas currently lacking suitable landing sites.

The project is intended to improve access to air transport during critical situations, particularly medical emergencies requiring the swift transfer of patients to health facilities elsewhere.