Ho Airport, which was developed to boost the economy of the Volta region and its adjoining regions, is still unused nearly six years after its completion.
A visit to the facility last Friday found the airport to be in good condition and well maintained.
However, the airport has become almost a “ghost town” since Passion Air ceased operating its Accra route in March 2022, repaying the $25 million loan secured for the project and other is in desperate need of revitalization to generate revenue that will help solve operational costs. utilities etc.
According to information received from the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), approximately CHF2.42 million has been spent on maintaining the facility over the past two years after commercial operations ceased.
The airline cited rising costs and declining passenger numbers as reasons for withdrawing the route.
Of the total maintenance costs, GH¢1.59 million was spent on cleaning and janitorial services. Outdoor construction including airside and landside weeding and horticulture services and waste management.
The rest was used for maintenance of the lights and their controllers. This includes repairing defective 1Nr chillers, replacing hydrant pillar valves, bulk maintenance work on fire pumps, scheduled maintenance, as well as replacement and repair work on closed circuit television (CCTV), fire alarm systems, and fiber optic network infrastructure.
This means that facilities that were once thought to open up the region to trade and tourism and create jobs remain idle but are still costing the state an average of GH¢1.21 million a year to maintain. do.
Efforts to get domestic airlines to resume operations have proved futile due to various challenges such as grounding of aircraft due to technical reasons, rising operating costs and low passenger numbers on routes.
context
Construction of the airport began in September 2015 and was completed in September 2018.
The facility will consist of a 1,900-meter-long and 30-meter-wide runway, aircraft parking, a terminal building that can accommodate at least 150,000 passengers per year, VIP and VVIP facilities, staff parking, and a 9-kilometre network. It has been. A view of the roads around the airport.
It also has a control tower, a reservoir, a fire station, and a backup generator.
The airport is approximately 165 kilometers (KM), or four hours’ drive, from the capital Accra, and road transport fares currently average CHF60 per bus passenger.
Passion Air started flying to Ho with fares starting from GH¢150 one-way, but ceased operations two years ago.
Ho visit
The Daily Graphic team’s visit to Ho Airport on February 15th was greeted with deafening silence as there was virtually no activity.
The team spent about two hours in the area, but there was no sign of any aircraft or visitors.
However, GACL officials on duty maintained that the facility was still hosting government officials, military personnel and pilot trainers.
The team noticed that even though the terminal building had not been used for two years, it was cleanly painted and spotless. This has led to many doubts as to whether it was purposely cleaned for the Daily Graphic’s cameras, or whether it was simply done on a routine basis.
The team’s suspicions were confirmed by the presence of no fewer than four young women on cleaning duty wearing T-shirts that read “Spa Clean.”
There was also a man with a hand mower on the land side of the terminal.
The Daily Graphic team observed areas of grass both airside and landside turning a yellow-gray color due to the weather and ordered a burn to control the spread of the bushfire at the airport. .
Most of the personnel, including GACL staff, air traffic controllers and security guards, are on duty but found themselves without customers to attend to.
The team also toured two transportation service providers, Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA) and Mass Transport Union, which were licensed to operate from the airport.
Community reaction
In an interview, Protoa local chairman Salvation Akmani expressed concern about the cancellation of commercial flights to the airport.
He said it had a negative impact on their business.
He therefore called on the airline to reconsider its decision and start operating the Akraho route.
Benjamin Nomegbo, a resident near the airport, said people in the area were ready to patronize the services of the airline once it resumed operations.
“Recently, I had to go through the pain of traveling overland from here (Ho) to Tema for a test and back on the same day, but having an air service like Kumasi makes it much less stressful. “It would have been done,” he added.
Another resident, Delight Kurtzi, who works as a teacher in the area, said there was excitement in Ho when the grass was cut in September 2015 to begin construction on the airport, but the six-year-old He said he was disappointed that there had been no activity during that time. .
GACL response
Yvonne Nana Afriyi Opare, Managing Director (MD) of GACL, responded to a question from the Daily Graphic dated January 31 under the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2019 (Act 989). Ghana Airports said it continues to be involved. Domestic airlines asked to consider starting service to the Ho route, but the action did not yield much results.
“However, due to various challenges such as landing the aircraft due to technical reasons, this could not be realized.
As aircraft in service are used to maintain service on existing routes, reductions in fleet size are having a negative impact on airlines’ route expansion plans. ”
To this end, GACL said it is in talks with Africa World Airlines (AWA) and its partner, the Ghana Aviation Academy, to establish an Aviation Training Organization (ATO) at the airport.
This includes the construction of an aircraft maintenance hangar and the development of an internationally recognized pilot training school with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) accreditation.
The MD explained that GACL proposed land for ATO development to AWA, which was accepted.
“GACL is currently working with AWA to finalize the project framework.
It was hoped that the development of the ATO would help attract other commercial activities and, in turn, create ideal conditions for domestic airlines to resume commercial passenger flights to the airport. ”
On facility maintenance at Ho, Mrs. Opare added that the airport is staffed by a core staff of approximately seven people consisting of rescue and firefighting services, aviation security and electromechanical staff, and regular maintenance is carried out.
Gakeru, Our Amuro
On Thursday, February 8, this year, officials from GACL and Africa World Airlines (AWA) toured the proposed aviation academy site and flight facilities at Ho Airport.
The GACL team was led by the Managing Director, Mr. Yvonne Nana Afriyi Opare, who led the delegation of the AWA, chaired by the Agbogbomefia of Asori, Mr. Togbe Afede XIV.
The visit followed plans to build hangars and other structures at the airport.
Both teams toured the $25 million airport’s runway and other facilities and met with various stakeholders, including representatives from the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and the Volta Region Lands Commission.
Nana Afriyie Opare told reporters that if the dream of the flight school becomes a reality, it will become a center of excellence with very bright prospects to boost the local economy.
“We are working with AWA to develop a pilot training academy and aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (AMRO) center, which will lead to job creation in the region,” she said.
Togbe Afede commended GACL for its steadfastness in supporting the project, which will later move beyond training pilots to training aircraft engineers and other professionals in the aviation industry.
“If trainee pilots can come here and maintain their aircraft here instead of going to South Africa, it will take Ghana’s aviation sector to greater heights,” he said.
expert opinion
International aviation expert Sean Mendis said the domestic aviation industry was suffering from a lack of capacity.
That means airlines are struggling to operate enough flights to established routes such as Kumasi and Tamale, he said.
“As a result, the deterrent is the opportunity cost of operating to an airport like Ho; you could fly to Ho with the same plane and lose a year as demand for the route increases; You can also take the same plane to Kumasi” and make a quick profit.
This is the challenge for airlines in the current environment,” said Mendis.
Mendis, a former chief operating officer of AWA, said Ghana’s domestic airport charges were already very low and that GACL or anyone else could further reduce charges to attract travelers to Ho. There were very few, he added.
Another industry expert, who requested anonymity, said the planned pilot training center is a step in the right direction to keep airports busy.
He said the airport doesn’t need to be crowded with commercial flights to be successful. It may also be used for other services.
Multiple sources from both AWA and Passion Air confirm that the airlines have no immediate plans to operate passenger flights on the Accraho route, citing the operational challenges mentioned above as key factors in the decision. Suggests.
Disclaimer: The views, comments, opinions, contributions and statements made by readers and contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policies of Multimedia Group Limited.