After the recent flight incident, the need to improve aviation safety and capacity, to provide stable funding for national aviation safety system, and for other purposes can not be over emphasized. After Sept-11 in America, the aviation industry changed a lot. In Ghana August 6, 2025; must become a day of remembrance and a turning point for all ordinary citizens and government workers. Many of us can not afford to take it as business as usual for both Air Force and Commercial Airlines.
A few things come to mind. Development of in-flight and ground-based weather threat mitigation systems. The need to strengthen systems for predicting, detecting, and mitigating the effect of certain weather conditions on both airplane and engines. Also of importance is en route turbulence prediction. I am certain that a lot more must be discussed to advance the development and implementation of safety management systems.
Ghana faces a great national challenge as the Nation’s aviation infrastructure is at a crossroads. The demand for aviation services, a critical element of the economy, vital in supporting the quality of life of the people of the nation Ghana, and critical in support of the Nation’s Défense and Security, is growing at an ever-increasing rate. At the same time, the ability of Ghana air transportation system to expand and change to meet this increasing demand is limited. The aviation industry accounts for more than 2,000,000 jobs in the country including cargo services like DHL, FEDEX and other private airmails.
The air transportation system continues to drive economic growth in the country and will continue to be a major economic driver as air traffic triples over the next 20 years.
(1) modernizing the air transportation system is a national priority and Ghana must make a commitment to revitalizing this essential component of the Nation’s transportation infrastructure.
(2) one fundamental requirement for the success of the Aviation Authority is strong leadership and sufficient resources. Appropriation must be done to address funding gaps carefully in the next budget or before appropriations for 2026.
(3) Government agencies and industry must work together, carefully integrating and aligning their work to meet the needs of the Safety Management System in the development of budgets, programs, planning, and research
(4) the Ministry of Transportation, the Aviation Authority, the Ministry of Défense, and Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Roads and Highway and other agencies must work in cooperation and make transformational improvements to Ghana air transportation infrastructure a priority.
The need for more ground access to projects for airports must be emphasized as we look at the movement of passengers or property travelling in the air transportation. What that means is that road network to and from Airports must be given some level of priority in all regions where we have airports. In fact, a lot of minerals are sometime airlifted to other countries and must be expanded.
Our aviation fees that have been established must be adjusted to ensure that the fees are appropriate to cover the related administrative cost as determined by the authority. The services rendered are so critical and costly. Some of the key services: air traffic control, navigation, weather services, training, and emergency services which must be available to any airport. Weather services are so critical for the entire aviation industry especially in areas where it snows or rains a lot.
I am very hopeful that Aeronautical Support facilities will be improved including fuel stations within the airport, hangar buildings, airplane washing bay, etc. Looking at what happened, we must give priority for the re-investment into aviation for both our AirForce and Commercial Flights.
In all of this the flight crew fatigue can not be forgotten. Attention to pilot fatigue, sleep and circadian rhythms is a major safety concern world wide. Standards regarding flight time limitations and rest for pilots must be carefully adhered to. More pilot programs to improve safety and efficiency by providing surveillance for aircrafts flying outside of radar coverage in mountainous areas need to be addressed.
To support the needs to residents on the Kwahu Ridge and Eastern Region, I encourage the aviation authority and Dr. Bryan Acheampong to use all available resources to ensure that the new Kwahu Airport meets its opening date goal of 2026.
In loving Memory of the FALLEN 8 Heroes!!
Written by Dr. Adomako Kissi, Former MP Anyaa Sowutoum.
