President Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo Addo has said that he is confident the country’s international airport, Kotoka International Airport will be opened to human traffic on 1st September, 2020.
The President disclosed this in his 15th broadcast to the nation on August 16, 2020 since the COVID-19 pandemic struck .
According to the him, this decision comes after he instructed some state institutions, which can determine the appropriateness of this move, to find out if the lifting of the ban on air transport in the country is safe.
However, even though the President is “hoping that by God’s grace we’ll be ready to do so by the 1st of September,” the opening of the country’s international airport is contingent on the report which will be submitted to the Presidency by these institutions.
“I know many still ask whether our borders, especially our international airport, Kotoka International Airport will be opened. Under my instructions, the Ministry of Aviation, the Ghana Civil aviation and the Ghana Airports Company Limited had been working with the Ministry of Health and its agencies to ascertain our readiness to reopen our airport. I want to ensure that we are in a position to test every single passenger that arrives in the country to avoid the spread of the virus. The outcome of the exercise will show as the way and determine when we can reopen our border by air.”
President Akufo-Addo, however, was emphatic that,
“Until further notice our borders by air, land and sea remain close to human traffic.”
He didn’t give a concrete reason why his government has decided to release the ban on international flights into the country after five months of closure.
This may be already public knowledge as the Editor in Chief of the New Crusading Guide Newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako disclosed on Saturday that, information he had been able to glean from his sources at the Presidency indicated that, the country’s international airport may be opened to Ghanaians living abroad to aid them register their names on the voter roll.
Read Also: Airports may be opened for Ghanaians abroad to register
The President also assured Ghanaians who have been stranded in other countries that they will be continued to be given the opportunity to return.
“For Ghana residents stranded abroad, special dispensation will be continued to be given for their evacuation back to Ghana, where they will be subjected to the mandatory quarantine and safety protocols.”
