A new Ghanaian flag carrier could be on the horizon

Ghana is moving closer to establishing a new national carrier as the government prepares to reveal the name of its new partner at the end of July 2022, a source familiar with the matter told AviationGhana.

The collapse of former national airlines Ghana Airways, which occurred in 2004, and Ghana International Airlines, which followed six years later in 2010, left a void in Ghana’s airspace. However, after 12 years of delays a new airline is now on the horizon.

As part of the ongoing effort to establish a new Ghanaian flag carrier, four companies – Ashanti Airlines, EgyptAir, Ethiopian Airlines (EA) and financial firm JNH Group – have been recognized as potential suitors, according to AviationGhana.

Ghana-based Ashanti Airlines is owned by local business magnates Osei Kwame Despite, co-founder of the Despite Group of Companies and his partner, Ernest Ofori Sarpong. EgyptAir, the state-owned flag carrier of Egypt, operates from its hub at Cairo International Airport. Based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Airlines is an East-African airline and aviation group, and JNH Group is a Ghanaian management consultancy firm and brokerage.

Overseeing the selection process for the new partner is a committee designated by Kweku Ofori Asiamah, Ghana’s Minister for Transport.

However, a source told AviationGhana that Ashanti Airlines is “likely” to win the bid.

Ashanti Airlines is preparing to commence operations in Ghana as it nears the end stages of obtaining the licenses required by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). The carrier has already acquired an Air Carrier License (ACL) and is finalizing its acquisition of an Air Operator Certificate (AOC). AviationGhana & aerotime.aero