GH from bad to worse ........

[TimS]

With acknowledgement to www.ghanaweb.com ......

The U.S. Department of Transportation late this afternoon notified Ghana Airways that it currently has no authority to operate its service into and out of the U.S. until aviation investigators can resolve what the Department described as serious questions surrounding the safety of its aircraft and why it continued to fly to the U.S. despite the fact that it had allowed its operating license to expire earlier this month. Ghana Airways is the government-owned and operated airline directly linking all of Western Africa to the United States.

The decision was prompted by several factors, including two incidents wherein the airline used a particular aircraft to fly roundtrip flights between Ghana and New York and Ghana and Baltimore, one Saturday and the other Monday, despite an order from inspectors with the Federal Aviation Administration to ground that particular aircraft until safety questions could be resolved.

In addition, the Department has questioned why the airline allowed its operating license to expire in mid-July but continued to operate unauthorized flights since that time. Because the airline allowed its license to lapse, regulations require a thorough review of an applicant before it can be renewed.

The Department recognizes the vital link Ghana Airways provides to people traveling between the United States and Western Africa. However, Ghana Airways’ recent actions have raised serious questions regarding safety and licensing, which must be answered before the airline will be allowed to resume service to and from the United States. In the meantime, the Department has notified Ghana Airways that it expects the airline to take all possible steps to address the needs of affected passengers. The Department pledges to work with the airline to resolve these issues as soon as possible for the benefit and safety of the airline’s passengers and crew as well as the traveling public.

The airline operates two roundtrip flights each week between Accra, Ghana and New York’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport and two roundtrip flights each week between Accra, Ghana and Baltimore Washington International Airport. The next scheduled flight was set to depart Accra tonight just after 7 p.m. EDT. That flight and all future flights are cancelled until further notice.

:( :(

[Alfred Kamara]

why am i not surprised at all ?

these guys should have been stopped many years ago Tim as you are well aware in waht terrible condition those aircraft are.

RIP Ghana Scareways RIP it i sbetter for all of us

[4HolerPoler]

Latest news:

Ghana Air leases airplane

Accra - Ghana's troubled national carrier, Ghana Airways, said on Sunday that it has made arrangements to transport passengers stranded while trying to fly between Ghana and the United States. Hundreds of passengers have been stranded at both sides of the Atlantic after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States banned the airline from flying into the country for safety reasons. Mawuko Afadzinu, public relations manager of Ghana Airways, said the airline had obtained permission from the FAA to use a leased aircraft to fly passengers with tickets between the two countries. He added that the airline was making arrangements to begin flying the route once more. The FAA banned the airline from flying in and out of the US and impounded its DC-10 at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport in an unprecedented action after the airline failed to renew its permit for the plane.

The board of directors of Ghana Airways, meanwhile, took action against four senior officials over the ban. The head of engineering, senior captain of the DC-10, dispatch manager and officer in charge of operations in the United States were suspended to enable investigations to be conducted into why the aircraft flew to the US despite notification that it had been banned from entering that country, Ken Anku, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Roads and Transport said. The board set up a committee to investigate the matter and take action to forestall any further embarrassment to the national airline.

The airline is saddled with a huge debt and is facing liquidation as its aircraft are aging. Efforts to get another airline to cooperate with Ghana Airways have not materialised. The management has said it inherited a "negative organisational culture", which included rampant pilfering and corrupt practices, uncontrolled authorisation of discounted tickets, an overambitious expansion of its route network, frequent abuse of official and staff privileges in carriage of baggage, an unwieldy organisational structure, a dearth of professionalism and discipline, and paucity of customer orientation. Ghana Airways flies to several West African capitals, Washington, London, New York, Johannesburg and Harare.

[Yak97]

Don't want to sound whingy but I though I had already started this thread, but my thread has disappeared.

[4HolerPoler]

Just for the record yak, there were two Ghana Airways threads - this one & your one. I checked the start of thread date & time & your thread started well after this one & got binned. We don't always bin dual threads - we do have the ability to merge them but in this case the gen was duplicated & it went down the chute.

4HP

[747CLASSIC]

Just heard through the "beat of the drums" that U.S. Carrier World Airways is looking to take over these routes to the U.S. through BJL from Ghana Airways. Any truth to this one?

Classic

[ChiefT]

Hi,

World is only flying the couple of flights which are allowed by the US CAA. I don't think that they go to operate this by themselves because they are an ACMI lessor only and are not interested in scheduled services.

[TimS]

Again with acknowledgement to www.ghanaweb.com ....

It would appear that the long expected terminal spiral is now well under way ............

Ghana: Chaos at Kotoka Airport

DAVID AMANOR: "There was chaos at Ghana's Kotoka International Airport in the capital Accra this morning when hundreds of angry passengers stormed into the offices of Ghana Airways Off.. Ghana Airways, claiming to have taken some airline officials hostage. The angry passengers were demanding action and compensation from the airline after delays of 48 hours in their flights to Europe. These were some of the voices heard at the airport today..."

MALE VOICE: "Everybody needs money, so everybody needs nothing less than one hundred pounds, because I bought pound ticket, I didn't buy this in cedi tickets, and they don't have to treat us like that."

FEMALE VOICE: "The police are trying to arrest me! Maa Adwoa(?) Ablo. To arrest me! They are joking. Let them fight."

DAVID AMANOR: "Angry Ghana Airways passengers at Kotoko International Airport today. Well the airline has not been faring well lately. Just ten days ago their planes were banned from flying to the United States pending an investigation into claims that unsafe planes were being flown. But today in Accra it appears safety might be one of the reasons for the delay. Journalist Akwesi Sarpong was at the airport. On a line to Accra, I first asked him what the passengers had got up to."

AKWESI SARPONG: "Well they moved into the operations office of Ghana Airways at the Kotoka International Airport demanding immediately word on when next they could get a flight to take them to Dusseldorf or to London. Basically there were two sets of passengers, ah, one which was supposed to have left on Friday for Dusseldorf and the second set of passengers which was supposed to have left this morning for London, and there was no word, the flights have been cancelled, ah, since Friday they have no word as to when they were leaving and they simply will not listen to any other explanations, they wanted to know when they were leaving because they felt they had been delayed, ah, way behind time. The explanation from the airline is that the engine of the plane that was supposed to take the passengers on Friday, ah, went down, so they were trying to lease an aircraft to airlift those passengers who have been stranded since Friday, but, ah, the information that came from the airline is that they wired money to the airline in London that was supposed to lease them an aircraft. The company in London was insisting they wanted CASH, and that couldn't be done over this weekend and so until Monday..."

DAVID AMANOR: "But they had, ah, they... the airline held an emergency meeting today, we understand?"

AKWESI SARPONG: "Yes. In the heat of the crisis, the chief executive of the airline, the board chairman, inspector general of police, and, ah, the president have been holding a crisis meeting on the situation that arose this morning. It was pretty much a situation of pandemonium. It took Accra Regional Police Commander and his men to move in to release, ah, three officials including one co-pilot who had been held in the operations office of the national airline at the Kotoka International Airport. The passengers were demanding immediately, ah, before they released them, ah, compensation of a hundred pounds daily since Friday when, ah, they had been holed up in Accra up until when Ghana Airways gets them a flight out of Accra, and then also demanding a proper accomodation, they specifically said they needed five star hotels to be accomodated in, and so until then they will not let them go, but the police came in and, ah, made them release the officials."

DAVID AMANOR: "So the officials have been released. Were any of the passengers arrested?"

AKWESI SARPONG: "Yes. A number of them were picked up. The Greater Accra Regional Police Commander said he was not arresting them, rather he was taking them in, ah, in, because they were, ah, identified as the ringleaders, ah, and they were being taken in just in order, ah, to have tempers, you know, cool down."

DAVID AMANOR: "So how many passengers were actually involved in the fracas?"

AKWESI SARPONG: "At least three hundred passengers, because you have two sets of passengers. Passengers who have been left stranded since Friday and those who were supposed to be leaving Accra today as well."

DAVID AMANOR: "Has calm now returned? Where are the passsengers? Are they going to be on their way to Europe?"

AKWESI SARPONG: "Ah, the airline's marketing manager told a journalist at the airport that the Ghana Airways, ah, is immediately seeing to efforts to ensure that the passengers will be carried to their destinations. It is still not clear, as of now, what arrangements are being made for the passengers, but when I left the airport a great number of them were still there, loitering about, hurling insults and abuse at the airline's managers. The airline's managers trying very hard to, you know, ah, keep a handle on the situation.

DAVID AMANOR: "Journalist Akwesi Sarpong, speaking from Accra..."

[non sched]

Interesting goings on recently. Ghana Airways has been told by the US authorities that no Ghana piloted or maintained aircraft will be allowed back in the US for now. The only option is to wet lease. Meanwhile, some group called Sentry Financial Corporation is planning on investing in Ghana Airways and they are Mormons. Apparently, some Ghanians strongly object to that possibility!:confused:

[Jangys]

People dont learn. How many ACMI leased aircraft did Ghana Airways leased over the past years because of the same reasons. Those ACMI leases did not last very long due to the reluctancy in part of Ghana Airways when it came to ACMI payments.

Ghana airways still owes a lot of these ACMI operators a lot of money, althought their aircraft were pulled out long time ago.

Their maintenance facilities in Accra is non existent, with C-check, u/s and abandonned aircraft filling up all the available space in their maintenance hangars. No funds avialable to complete or repair.

Looks like some officials at Ghana Airways are living the high life while passengers are stranded in the terminal building.

What a quick way to make a buck or two.......
:yuk: :yuk:

[Engineer]

Don't you just love Africa :cool:

[Engineer]

Here it has all come to a grinding halt and that the government have taken over running the airline. All the expats have been released and aircraft returned to leasing company.

[Gunship]

Ahhh thought there was serious problems.

One out of about 7 scheduled flights arrived here.

They do no tneed to re-open.

Nobody here in Gambia / SL / Guinea / Liberia trust them anymore.

Anybody else want to make LOTS of money ? Start a RELIABLE West Africa Hub / route incl Lagos and then Accra from the places mentioned above - you will make a killing ... no pun intended :E

[wheels up]

Looks like Ghana Scareways are leasing an Orient Tai 747 and a Air Zimbabwe 767 in the meantime. The DC9 flies every now and then when its not in pieces.

One of the DC10s flew last week on a test flight. Heard the pilot asking for the ILS frequency at Kumasi, only to be informed by the Kumasi controller that they don't have an ILS! Also had to ask for field elevation and runway length - don't these guys have a Jep? Scary - considering there are only about 10 licenced airflields in Ghana.

After consolling themselves to the fact that there was no ILS they then proceeded to fly the VOR approach (??) before heading back to Accra - not pretty watching from the ground (visual conditions) The aircraft has subsequently been grounded again (problems on no 2 engine). See the cowls are regularly off and loud hammering noises can be heard eminating from the region of no 2. Oh dear! SAA it is then.

[Rani]

Hello,

How would you describe Bellview's reliability of their West African route network? Are they more reliable than Ghana Airways before it stopped?

Thanks

[Gunship]

Ghana Scareways can not be mentioned in the same sentence as Bellview.

Hope that makes it understandable :E

[oneeyed]

Hi Rani,
in answer to your question, Bellview is most likely one of the very few reliable operators on the west coast at the moment. There flights operate mostly on schedule and cancellations are very rare - in fact on the international routes I can't remember when the last one happend. Inflight service could do with some improvement though - old doghnuts are not everybodys idea of a healthy breakfast

[Rani]

Oneeyed,

Thanks for your reply. Good to hear Bellview is reliable on the West Coast, especially at a time when most national carriers have/are disappearing.

I wonder if Bellview will use one of its 2 Boeing 767-200s (to be delivered in October and November) on the West Coast routes.

Is Ghana Airways still flying? If it isnt around anymore, I can certainly see potential for filling up a daily 767 on the Lagos-Accra route, along with other flights to Dakar, Abidjan, etc..

[Gunship]

Rani , this post from TimS in the Nigeria Airways / Virgin thread might answer your question :

This is the latest on Ghana Airways (deceased) ......

Ghana Airways: Going, Going ......
... Assets To Be Converted Into Equity
... New airline would not take over Ghana Airways
... Fate of 1,165 staff in Limbo
The government is to value and convert the assets of Ghana Airways into equity as its share in a new company due to the winding-up of the nation’s distressed airline.

The new company yet to be named, will not take over Ghana Airways but operate it as a new and different entity.

The government, will have 70 per cent shares in the new company with the remaining 30 per cent shares going to Ghana International Airline (GIA). Over the last few months, the government had been engaged in a partnership deal with GIA, a US based consortium, to partner it in the formation of a new airline.

According to a government source, the fate of the staff of Ghana Airways will depend on whether the new company will like to engage them. The source said as part of the official winding up process of Ghana Airways, the government was engaging the services of an independent valuer to value the airlines assets.

The source said the government was following due process and consequences in winding-up the airline and gave the assurance that due process would be followed in the eventual termination of the appointment of the 1,165 staff of the company. The source said a debt committee had been formed by the government to access the actual debt portfolio of Ghana Airways to enable the government to reschedule the debt as a step to winding the company up.

The source who was emphatic that, the new airline would not take over Ghana Airways but would be a different entity on its own, adding that the faith of the staff of Ghana Airways would depend on whether the new company would want to engage the services of Ghana Airways staff.

The source added that the government would follow provisions made in the collective bargaining agreement signed between the staff and the company in the termination processes. The action of the government, the source explained, was backed by company code 1963 ACT 179 and the Official Liquidation Act, 1963 Act 180.

According to the source, a Shareholders Agreement was yet to be signed by both parties, and that the new airline would be operational before the end of this month.

The source added that the airline would be managed by a five-member board of directors of which the government would appoint three members.

The source said an Initial Management Team of four managers would be appointed by GIA to effectively manage the affairs of the airline. The source went further to state that as part of provisions outlined in the agreement, in the case of any eventualities, the agreement between the two partners would be governed by and construde in accordance with laws of Ghana as to all matters including validity, construction and enforcements “provided, however, that the conflict of laws rule shall not apply”.

As to whether the new airline will fly the national flag and use the name Ghana Airways, the source was positive about the flag but said the company would have to have a new identity from the old airline. The source added that the new airline would also fly all the routes that the old airline was flying including its sub-regional routes.

In a related development, two members of GIA who would form part of the initial management team of the new airline arrived in the country yesterday. The two, Messrs Ralph Atkins, Board Member and retired Chairman of Skywest Airlines, and Albert Vitale, Vice-President of World Transport Group, all in Utah, as part of their visit would secure an Airline Carrier License (ACL) and an Airline Operations Certificate (AOC) for the new airline.

They would also formally, present their business proposal plans on October 31, to government which would be discussed extensively. The outcome of the discussion would inform the commencement of actual business for the company. The start of business would then lead to the gradual winding-up of Ghana Airways.

......... with credit to Ghanaweb