Kotoka International Airport Opens New Boarding Gates

Mrs. Doreen Owusu Fianko, Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Ltd (GACL), has officially opened two new boarding gates at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to enhance and upgrade facilities for travelers.

The 3rd and 4th boarding gates, constructed in partnership with Delta Air Lines and Air France KLM, form part of GACL�s effort to make KIA a preferred destination within the sub-region, and also to deepen its business relations with stakeholders. KLM and Delta Air Lines, as a result of this partnership, will have primary use of these departure gates which have capacity for 170 travellers.

�The pre-financing of 3rd and 4th boarding gates by Delta and KLM is an indication of GACL�s willingness to partner stakeholders to help achieve our vision of making KIA the hub and gateway of the West African sub-region,� said Mrs. Owusu Fianko at the official opening in Accra.

She commended the two organisations for their strategic partnership in ensuring the speedy completion of the two gates. �The new departure gates at Kotoka Airport highlight Delta�s ongoing commitment to Ghana with improved airport facilities for our customers,� Bobby Bryan, Delta�s Sales Manager for West and East Africa, stated.

�As the leading carrier to the U.S. from Ghana, we offer our passengers non-stop services to the United States, boosting travel and tourism between our two nations and increasing travel choice for Ghanaians with flights to the two U.S. gateways.�

Delta operates a four-time weekly service from Accra to New York, which became an overnight service from 1st June, using a 216-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. In addition, Delta also offers three times weekly service between Accra and Atlanta.

Air France - KLM�s Regional Manager for Ghana, Liberia & Sierra Leone, Jack Urlus, said �KLM is proud to have partnered with GACL and Delta Air Lines to offer improved service for our passengers. With the daily KLM Boeing 777-200 operation, accommodating 35 world business class and 283 tourist passengers from Accra to Amsterdam, this dedicated gate will aid in the smooth processing of its passengers and reduce the boarding waiting time.�

There will be a dedicated area for KLM's Economy Comfort passengers at the gate, whilst Business Elite, World Business Class passengers and Flying Blue Elite members can still use the facilities of the Akwaaba lounge.

Delta recently announced the introduction of a premium economy product, �Economy Comfort�, in summer 2011, as well as the roll-out of full flat-bed seats on the international wide-body fleet over the coming months. This forms part of a $2 billion investment to enhance airport facilities and global products and services, including new international terminals at New York-JFK and Atlanta airports.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer services to 356 destinations in 65 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft.

GACL was incorporated in the year 2006 and commenced operations in January 2007 and has been entrusted with the responsibility for developing, managing and maintaining all airports in Ghana including the three domestic airports, namely Kumasi, Tamale, Sunyani as well as various airstrips in Ghana.

The aviation industry in Ghana has experienced steady, if not phenomenal, growth in recent years. The number of scheduled airlines operating to and from Ghana has increased from 13 in the 1990�s to 30 in 2010. Passenger traffic has also seen a significant increase since the beginning of the decade. The airport serviced 1,430,431 passengers in 2010 to about 26 destinations (point to point).

Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines merged in May 2004, becoming AIR France-KLM, the largest airline group in Europe and one of the largest in the world, carrying more than 71 million passengers per year. Air France and KLM operate independently from their respective hubs in Paris and Amsterdam, but are working closely to coordinate their operations, both as sister companies and as members of the SkyTeam alliance.

Source: B&FT