Ghana's Aviation Sector: From an appendage to mainstream

The important contribution of aviation to local and regional economies is immense. Indeed, air transport is usually associated with significant portions of local business. It has been proven that the influence on local and regional economic activity extends well beyond the airport site.

Better still, the location of airports influences the geographic distribution of industries and can be a significant factor in the decisions of certain industries to locate in a specific state or region. Tourism industries have also been shown to be sensitive to air travel access.

Data indicate that access to air transport plays an increasingly important role in the ability of some high-technology industries, such as computers and electronics, to compete, and that the location of airport facilities influences the location of these industries.

Despite these enormous benefits, the aviation sector in Ghana has been an appendage of various government agencies until recently when it has been mainstreamed as a viable and important contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Until recently, the aviation sector has not been deemed important enough to stand on its own just like the education, tourism, trade & industry and other sectors, until President John Agyekum Kufuor assumed power.

Prior to that, the sector has been treated as an appendage of the Ministry of Transport with a small corner office in-charge of aviation-related issues. The treatment of aviation as a step child of the Transport Ministry saw little exertion to grow the sector and thus aviation’s socio-economic impact was not realised.

Air transportation is one of the world's most important industries. Its development and its technical and service achievements make it one of the greatest contributors to the advancement of modern society. It plays an increasingly vital role in facilitating economic growth, particularly in developing countries and regions.

Better understanding of the nature of air transportation system and the role that it plays in an urban agglomeration is critical because the 'accessibility through airports' assumed an elevated role under the NPP government of President Kufuor.

The NPP administration kick-started the process that would culminate in mainstreaming the sector in November 2004. A new civil aviation law, the Civil Aviation Act, 2004 (Act 678) was enacted. The law mandated the separation of the airports management functions of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to a new entity.

The Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) was eventually set up for that purpose. The objective was for GCAA to focus on its role as the Regulator of the air transport industry and provider of air navigation services.

In line with the Act, GACL was incorporated in January 2006 but commenced operations in January 2007 with the responsibility for planning, developing, managing and maintaining all airports in Ghana. After the decoupling of the GCAA, GACL continued with the development programme for Kotoka International Airport.

A bold statement by government was the decision to liberate aviation from the shadows of the Ministry of Transport and create a dedicated ministry for it in 2006. The Ministry of Aviation was, therefore, set-up to champion aviation sector development.

Unfortunately, after the NPP government lost power in 2009, the bright prospects of the aviation industry were dashed when the Aviation Ministry was collapsed and aviation-related issues placed back under the shadows of the Transport Ministry.

This period saw one of the most retrogressive policies—the imposition of a 17.5 % VAT on domestic air transport. This period saw a sharp decline in domestic passenger throughput, with dampened demand pushing operators such as Antrak, Starbow and Fly540 to the brink.

Revival and mainstreaming of aviation

The coming into office of the NPP under the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has marked the resurgence of the aviation industry. Firstly, aviation, which supports the livelihoods of some 65.5 million people globally including sectors such as travel and tourism, was brought out of the shadows of the Transport Ministry and a separate ministry re-created for it.

This decision by the President, has served to facilitate the rapid growth of the sector.

The ‘nuisance’ 17.5 percent VAT on domestic air travel was abolished. Relations with international bodies and sister countries have also been deepened, evidenced by the signing of various Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA) and the winning of various international awards.

Under the leadership of Joseph Kofi Adda, Ghana’s Kotoka International Airport has been adjudged the best airport in West Africa and the fourth best in the World by the Airport Council International (ACI) Africa. The country moved from 6th last year to 4th in the West Africa ranking.

The hosting of the 28th Airports Council International (ACI) Conference in Accra in 2019, marked a return of the sector to the high table of aviation globally. The Adda-led ministry pushed for reforms and growth in the aviation sector in Ghana with measurable results.

Ghana obtained a provisional Effective Implementation (EI) rate of 89.89 percent, the highest by an African country, after the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) concluded its Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) on April 3, 2019, in line with the United Nations aviation agency’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP).

Recognising this landmark achievement by the Republic of Ghana, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), under the guidance of the ministry, immediately developed an action plan towards the implementation of corrective measures that have been recommended by the ICAO team.

Ghana’s aviation industry enjoys strong government support, which is a crucial determinant for the aviation sector’s ability to maintain an ICAO compliant regulatory framework and to achieve accelerated sustainable growth of the sector in the years ahead.

There are now four agencies under the Ministry of Aviation with the establishment of the Aircraft Accident and Incident Prevention and Investigation Bureau (AIB) and the Air Navigation Services (ANS), in addition to the already existing Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL).

Conclusion

From the shadows, aviation is now a strong stand-alone sector that contributed US$2.5 billion to the country’s GDP in 2018. The progress made under the Akufo-Addo government is unparalleled and demands a sustain momentum to achieve the heights of major aviation hubs in Europe and the Middle East. With the verve of the Aviation Ministry, the country is shaping up to be the aviation capital of the sub-region.