Ghana’s new national airline is moving closer to take off after the Ghanaian government revealed it had selected the name ‘GhanaAirlines’ for the new flag carrier.
The new name was announced by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta during 2023 budget presentation to the Ghanaian Parliament, AviationGhana reported.
Ofori-Atta also said that the country expects the airline to be operational in 2023, according to a report by GhanaWeb.
The new flag carrier is in the final stages of acquiring an Air Operator Certificate (AOC), will be backed by Ashanti Airlines. Ashanti Airlines was selected by the Ghanaian government in September 2022 as a strategic investor to help establish the new national carrier after outbidding other suitors, such as EgyptAir, Ethiopian Airlines and financial firm JNH Group.
Ashanti Airlines is based in Ghana and is owned by local business magnates Osei Kwame Despite, co-founder of the Despite Group of Companies and his partner, Ernest Ofori Sarpong.
The establishment of GhanaAirlines will bring the 12-year absence of a national carrier in Ghana to an end. This follows the collapse of former national airlines Ghana Airways in 2004, and Ghana International Airlines, six years later in 2010.
GhanaAirlines’ ambitious fleet plan with sights beyond Africa
The new national carrier is expected to accommodate short-, medium- and long-haul routes with a fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners and De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 aircraft.
The airline expects to service its domestic and regional services within Ghana and Africa with a fleet of up to six Dash 8-400 aircraft. A fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners will service its long-haul routes, backed by a provisional order for three Boeing Dreamliners, which was
signed by the Ghanaian government during the 2019 Dubai Airshow.
In a November 2019 statement from Boeing regarding the provisional order, Ghana’s Aviation Minister, Joseph Kofi Adda revealed that the airline would be based in Accra, Ghana and would operate routes to West Africa and future routes to destinations in Europe, North America and Asia.
“There is a growing demand for air travel to and from Ghana and we believe the advanced 787-9 Dreamliner gives us an efficient and flexible machine to launch a regional network and eventually serve international destinations in the future,” Adda said.