A daily flight linking Atlanta to the Ghanaian capital of Accra took off Dec. 1, one of two new nonstop routes Delta Air Lines Inc. has launched this fall to the African continent.
The Accra flight is seasonal, running through March 2026, but its return to Atlanta reflects an increasing local appetite for direct links to theWest African nation for both business and tourism purposes.
The restart, happening more than a decade after Delta suspended its previous route from ATL to Kotoka International Airport, also comes just over a year after the country named an honorary consul to represent its interests in Georgia. The state is home to a thriving diaspora community operating a number of associations corralled under the Ghana Council of Georgia banner.
Yvonne Horsley McCowin, who took up the consular post last fall, said tourism has exploded since the government launched its Year of Return in 2019, especially roaring back after a lull during the pandemic.
Atlanta groups have been part of the trend, from the Georgia State University study-abroad program focused on film entrepreneurship to the Girls Going Global initiative aiming to “fill a plane” with 100 young women from Atlanta, helping them grow leadership skills and identify potential career pathways in the crucible of overseas study.
And it’s not just Atlanta: After Savannah Mayor Van Johnson attended the general assembly of the World Trade Centers Association in Accra in 2023, he helped form the Greater Savannah Ghana Alliance and formalized a city-to-city partnership with Accra in a virtual signing ceremony with his counterpart there in February 2024. (See a video the event)
On Jan. 26, 2026, the World Trade Center Savannah, which sees Ghana as a strategic market, will host the inaugural Greater Savannah-Ghana Business Forum.
All this comes at an opportune moment, Ms. McCowin said, as Ghana builds on its heritage connections with the U.S. to become an even more strategic economic partner.
“They didn’t call us the Gold Coast for nothing,” she said during a Global Atlanta reception with African diplomats Wednesday, alluding to the country’s name before it gained independence from British rule in 1957. But it’s the discovery of huge troves of critical minerals like tantalum, graphite, lithium and more that boost its relevance today.
“These minerals, they power the world’s electronics, solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles and rechargeable batteries. So we’re poised right now to play a very critical role in the global transition to clean energy,” she said.
That comes on top of its significant oil and gas reserves. Most crude has thus far been extracted from offshore wells, but Ghana is in the midst of a plan to develop onshore production in the Volta basin, which experts believe could be transformational for the country.
“This discovery really strengthens our role in being the key energy supplier at a time when global demand continues to grow. So those two discoveries would spearhead the long-anticipated economic transformation of Ghana, creating new industries, new jobs and new opportunities for international partnership,” Ms. McCowin said.
Ghana has also continued to position itself as a regional hub for corporations, government agencies and nonprofits, including pivotal global health organizations based in Atlanta.
The Carter Center, for instance, helped Ghana eradicate Guinea worm disease and eliminate trachoma in 2015 and 2018, respectively. Its experts have also observed elections and worked to improve the lives of women by boosting their access to information and resources. Accra is one of the cohort cities in the center’s “Inform Women, Transform Lives” campaign, launched in 2021, with 13 new cities tapped at the end of September.
Valerie Mills, a Ghana native serving as senior director of the Mayor’s Office of International and Immigrant Affairs, said during opening remarks at the Global Atlanta reception that it was hard for her contain her excitement when attending a celebration for the Delta launch at Hartsfield-Jackson’s gate F10 this week.
“You would think that I was getting on that Accra-bound flight too,” she said.
Delta in October launched another seasonal flight to Marrakech, Morocco, a tourism play that brought to five the number of daily destinations in Africa the airline serves from Atlanta, its hometown and largest hub.
The second-annual Diaspora Diplomats reception was sponsored by Kennesaw State University, which hosted the Year of Ghana in 2012-13. That series of events and lectures was capped by a visit from then-President John Dramani Mahama in 2013. Mr. Mahama won a second, non-consecutive term as president in December 2024.