By Chinelo Obogo
Ghana’s Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has given United Nigeria Airlines permission to commence scheduled flight operations into the Kotoka International Airport, Accra.
The approval of the request for cargo and passenger operations for the Nigerian carrier to fly into Ghana was communicated to by the GCAA on July 13 in a letter with reference number AIR/4203/087/008.
The Director General of GCAA, Charles Kraikue, who signed the approval, stated that “Approval is hereby granted United Nigeria Airlines Company Limited in accordance with Ghana Civil Aviation (Flight Standard) Directives Part 10 to continue commercial transport operations into, or from Ghana in accordance with the Air Operators certificate and its associated Operations Specifications issued by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority”.
The approval comes amid preparations by the airline to also commence scheduled flight operations to unite travellers with Jos in Plateau state, Abakaliki in Ebonyi State, Benin in Edo state, Maiduguri in Borno state, Ibadan in Oyo state, Ilorin in Kwara state, Kano and Sokoto.
Meanwhile, the airline said it is also seeking approvals of the relevant authorities for the commencement of scheduled operations to N’Djamena in Chad, Libreville in Gabon, Malabo in Equatorial Guinea, Monrovia in Liberia and Banjul, The Gambian capital.
Other cities of interest for the airline include Sao Tome, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville and Douala in Cameroon.
United Nigeria Airlines has also applied for approval for operations to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Rome in Italy, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Houston in the United States of America, Dublin, Ireland and London in the United Kingdom.
This is coming on the heels of the acquisition of wide boy aircraft including Airbus and ERJ 175 and ERJ 190 which will join the airline’s fleet soon to power intercontinental and regional operations in an expansion project that would reposition United Nigeria Airlines for improved service delivery across Nigeria, continental and intercontinental routes.
Hinting on the company’s plans to commence regional operations earlier, Chief Operating Officer of United Nigeria Airlines, Mazi Osita Okonkwo said, “It is a reality that is going to happen very soon. In keeping with our strategy, we started with Nigeria, next is the region which is West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, North Africa and South Africa. We have done all the processes, the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification is a necessary requirement. We have gotten into IATA registry and membership, now we have been designated to operate a number of routes.”