In the last seven years, Ghana has welcomed a notable fleet of aircraft on the tarmac of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) and Kumasi International Airport.
First, in 2018, Ghana witnessed the successful landing and taking off of the Airbus A380 operated by Emirates.
The historic landing was the first time a commercial aircraft of this kind had landed at the Kotoka International Airport’s Terminal 3, as a one-off service to the new terminal.
The landing of the A380 double-decker demonstrated the airport’s readiness to accommodate the world’s largest aircraft.
The special Emirates A380 flight was operated by a Ghanaian, Captain Solomon Quainoo, and UAE national, First Officer Faisal Alhammadi.
Furthermore, on September 29, 2022, history repeated itself when another A380 operated by British Airways landed in Ghana for the second time at the same venue [KIA].
The landing was yet another testament to the Ghana Airports Company Limited’s (GACL) ability to handle some of the largest fleet of passenger aircraft in the world.
Most recently, in 2023, US Vice President Kamala Harris, made a historic visit to Ghana in the Air Force 2 aircraft, during an official visit.
The Air Force 2 is the official air traffic control designated call sign held by any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the U.S. Vice President.
The magnificent jet, which comes with the most pristine of features, was parked at the KIA for three days.
The latest passenger jet to add to the growing list of arrivals to Ghana was the Airbus A320 operated by EgyptAir.
The airliner arrived on April 25, 2024, at the newly-renovated Kumasi International Airport.
It was transporting the Egyptian football team, Zamalek, who arrived in Kumasi to play a football match with Ghana’s Dreams FC.
According to AviationGhana.com, this is the third time an A320 has successfully landed and taken off from the airport facility since 2019.
Meanwhile, Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, speaking during a recent tour of the new Kumasi International Airport, said the facility is set to be inaugurated in May this year ahead of the full operationalisation of the airport by the end of June 2024.
So far, additional expansion works are earmarked at the airport to extend the length of the current runway from 1994m to 2,300m to place the facility in the position to accommodate larger planes above the A320 and B737.
MA/EK/AE
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
