AWA launches Accra-Lagos flight route
Africa World Airlines (AWA) has been urged to take the necessary steps to ensure that it grows and sustains its regional operations to Nigeria and other parts of Africa.
Mr. Ellis Hugh Tamakloe, Director, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Ministry of Transport, who made the call at an event to mark the launch of AWA’s regional operations in Accra, said the Accra- Nigeria route was a very competitive one.
He said because of the competition other airlines that had previously been given designations to ply had not succeeded in penetrating and advised AWA to employ all its managerial and other skills to sustain its services on the route.
AWA’s regional route to Nigeria is scheduled to start on 2nd December, 2013, with twice daily flights.
He noted that the Ministry was happy to be part of the airline’s success story since it was government’s vision to develop the aviation industry and to make Ghana a hub for aviation in the West-African sub-region.
He also commended AWA’s contribution towards the achievement of that vision in its one year of existence, saying, its establishment had helped to increase the number of passengers carried between Accra, Kumasi and Tamale at reduce fares.
This, he said, had dispelled the myth that flying was for the elite and encouraged more Ghanaians to use air transport.
Mr. Tamakloe asked the airline to do more and assured of the Ministry support in future ventures, as long as they continued to adhere to safety and security standards and provide excellent customer service.
Tobge Afede XIV, Founder and Co-Chairman of the AWA, stated that the airline in its short existence had succeeded in establishing itself as the preferred airline for domestic travel among Ghanaians, thus growing its weekly flights to 50 and its market share to over 15 per cent.
He revealed that in order to ensure reliability and sustainability in its services, especially on its regional routes, the airline was in process of increasing the number of aircraft in its fleet.
AWA would take delivery of a new aircraft next week ahead of the start of its Accra-Lagos operations, bringing the total to three and plans to have ten aircraft in its fleet by end of 2014.
Togbe Afede indicated that AWA had big dreams; to promote the unity and integration of the African continent through air transport and also provide flight services to countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas in the long term, adding that, the airline had both the financial and technical support from its partners to achieve those dreams.
He said positive factors, including government’s vision to establish Accra as an aviation hub, plans to upgrade the Tamale airport into an alternate international airport, expansion of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) and growth in passenger numbers, as well as the increase in international airlines operating to the KIA, gave the airline reason to believe in its success.
He thanked staff of the airline, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, Ghana Airport Company Limited and the Ministry for their support over the past year and solicited their continued support as the AWA continued to grow.
AWA has received designations to operate flight into four states in the Federal Republic of Nigeria: Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt as well as Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso.
Source: GNA