Ghana Civil Aviation Training Academy to train more paragliding pilots

The Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture, Mrs Barbara Oteng -Gyesi, has said the Ghana Civil Aviation Training Academy (GCATA) of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), would train more pilots for the aviation industry and the paragliding events in the country.

She said, this would ensure that more Ghanaian pilots will participate in the Kwahu paragliding event regularly instead of the annual event due to the absence of local pilots.

Mrs Oteng- Gyesi was speaking at the launch of the 14th Annual Kwahu Heritage Paragliding Festival on the Odweanoma Mountain at Atibie in the Kwahu South District of the Eastern Region.

She said Easter in Kwahu area has become synonymous with domestic tourism including the paragliding event and several cultural, social and religious activities in the area.

The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture said, the paragliding site would be upgraded for more people to participate as the event benefited a number of people including traders, taxi drivers, hoteliers and food vendors.

She commended the government and the Ghana Highway Authority for the construction of the road from Atibie to the paragliding site.

She said she was happy to see a woman and two Ghanaians among the 13 pilots from Japan, USA, Germany, Peru and Indonesia.

The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Eric Kwakye Darfour, urged the Ghana Highways Authority to include a bicycle lane and a pedestrian walkway along the road being constructed, while the Ghana Tourism Authority provide hotels at the site to accommodate people who will be participating in the paragliding festival.

Source: GNA