General News of Sunday, 16 September 2001
Source: Joy Online
The Kotoka International Airport and the national airline, Ghana Airways have now been cleared to begin flights to the United States following certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This brings the number of African airports and airlines cleared by the FAA to five including Angola, Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt.
The airline regulatory body began conducting security checks on airports and air carriers as part of its heightened security measures for flights to and from the United States following last Tuesday’s terrorist attacks. Already, most of the airports and airlines in Europe including South America and Asia have been cleared to provide service to US airports.
The Federal Aviation Administration continues to update its list of airports and airlines, whose security certifications have been completed. Meanwhile, despite the lifting of flight restrictions on the Kotoka International Airport and
Ghana Airways by the FAA, the two organizations seem not to be aware of the clearance. JOYFM’s monitoring team chanced on the information indicating that Ghana and four other African countries can resume flight operations to the US after having satisfied new security checks.
However, enquiries at Ghana Airways and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority indicate that officials on duty do not know that the restrictions have been lifted. Officials at the offices of the two institutions told JOYFM that there are no management staffs to relay any information to the traveling public.
They advised JOYFM to contact their offices on Monday, for any information about flight restrictions. Hundreds of Ghana Airways passengers, including their crew are stranded in both Accra and the United States after Tuesday’s attack.