Ghana's new national carrier will be called GhanaAirlines (Accra) and will be launched in 2023, according to Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
Presenting the 2023 budget before Parliament on November 24, 2022, he said: "Shareholders and partnership agreements were signed with the selected strategic partner for the home-based carrier, which will be known as GhanaAirlines. The airline is expected to be operationalised in 2023."
Ahead of the selection, names such as Akwaaba Airlines, Black Star Airlines, and Kente Airlines were mooted as alternatives, reported GhanaWeb.
The minister did not provide further details about the partners and shareholders, but it has been reported that Ashanti Airlines has been selected as the preferred strategic partner.
GhanaWeb reports that Ashanti Airlines, owned by businessmen Osei Kwame Despite and Ernest Ofori-Sarpong, is finalising financial arrangements for a 2023 launch.
According to Ghana Civil Aviation Authority records, Ashanti Airlines already holds an air carrier's licence (ACL), allowing it to operate scheduled and chartered passenger and cargo flights on an international, regional, and domestic basis. The carrier is currently in Phase Four (demonstration and inspection phase) of the five-stage process towards an Air Operator Certificate (AOC), the GCAA confirmed to ch-aviation.
Ghana has not had a national carrier with international flights since the collapse of Ghana Airways (Accra) in 2004 and the subsequent collapse of Ghana International Airlines (Accra) in 2010.
Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) with Ethiopian Airlines and EgyptAir for joint venture national carriers did not move further, resulting in the establishment of a new committee to vet all proposals under the former Aviation Ministry, now being run by the Ministry of Transport.
