Antrak’s new aircraftAntrak Airline has resumed full operations on the Tamale-Accra route after a fire incident on one of its aircraft disrupted operations on that route.
The incident, which happened 20 minutes after the aircraft had taken off, forced the airline to reduce its operations on that route.
That led to the cancellation of trips previously booked by some of the airline’s customers.
Antrak has, however, replaced the grounded aircraft with a new one – ATR 72-500– which was inspected and approved for use by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) yesterday.
The new aircraft is a 68-seater that has been leased from Swiftair, Antrak’s partner based in Spain.
The airline’s Chief Commercial Officer, Mr Kwaku Antwi-Boasiako, said in an interview that the replacement of the faulty aircraft was based on the arrangement that his outfit had with its Spanish counterparts.
“The contract with Swiftair makes it possible for a replacement as and when there is an emergency and we are happy it was done swiftly,” he said.
While admitting that the fire incident and the subsequent disruption of operations on the Tamale-Accra route had impacted negatively on Antrak’s operations, Mr Antwi-Boasiako said the airline was confident the quick replacement will help assure customers that Antrak was committed to running a safe and reliable business.
He assured customers and the general public of safe flights, explaining that Antrak’s operations “are supervised by two reputable aviation authorities – the GCAA and the Spanish Civil Aviation Authority.”
“We also have well trained pilots who are able to take care of emergences as and when they occur,” he added.
Antrak Air controls about 40 per cent of the domestic market share, leaving the rest to the three other airlines operating domestic flights.
By Maxwell Adombila Akalaare/Daily Graphic/Ghana
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