[ 2021-03-08 ]

Ghana wins ‘airport war’ with Britain
But how did the Africans threaten Britain into
surrendering?



British online news platforms as well as some
newspapers have been awash this week with news
that British authorities would now allow flights
from Accra, Ghana to land in Heathrow instead of
Gatwick as had earlier been proposed by British
authorities.

Some of the reportage did very little to hide the
disappointment with the result of the ‘airport
war’ that was started by a proposal by the Brits
late last year. British Airways had planned to
redirect flights from Accra to London‘s Gatwick
instead of Heathrow, the most prestigious airport
in the United Kingdom.

Ghana’s Aviation ministry rejected this
proposal, calling it “unacceptable”. But it
did not stop there. The ministry also threatened
that if flights from Accra were to land in
Gatwick, Accra was also going to redirect flights
from Britain to land in Ghana’s second-largest
city, Kumasi.

The statement from the Ghanaians in January had
read: “[Ghana] will advise itself and take a
reciprocal action on behalf of our passengers in
the coming days if our call for British Airways to
rescind its decision on the movement to Gatwick
airport is not heeded,”

Initially, it seemed to many observers that the
Ghanaians were bluffing. But the ministry doubled
down in another statement as if to dare their
British counterparts.

Compared to Gatwick, the Kumasi Airport does not
receive international flights. Gatwick, which is
some 45 miles from Heathrow, is considered less
prestigious than Heathrow, even though it receives
massive international airliners. Kumasi is a
municipal airport and plans to convert it into an
international station have been proposed by past
Ghanaian governments for many years without
concrete work. The city is also more than 100
miles from Accra.

The British authorities rescinded their decision
and would from March 28, allow flights from
Accra’s Kotoka International Airport to resume
landing at Heathrow. The change to Gatwick would
have affected passengers from Accra in two main
ways.

Gatwick is much farther from the center of London
than Heathrow is. That certainly would have been a
cause for concern for passengers. Secondly,
Gatwick receives far fewer flights these days,
which means that current airport staff is only at
the most minimal required number, a fact that
would undoubtedly stress passengers.

So how did Ghana pull this feat off, seeing that
it was inconceivable for British Airways flights
to have landed at a non-international airport? It
would seem the Brits did not want to find out how
terrible an 80-year aviation relationship could
get with Accra. British Airways’ relationship
with Accra’s airport is one of the longest
ongoing between the carrier and an airport.

The Accra airport was actually started as a Royal
Air Force (RAF) base in West Africa during World
War II. After the war, it became an international
airport and was renamed Kotoka in the 1980s, after
a former Ghanaian military officer, Emmanuel
Kotoka.

British Airways management gave no reasons for its
change in mind but a spokesperson reportedly said:
“We keep our network under constant review and
will be continuing our long-running service to
Accra from London Heathrow.”

Source - face2faceafrica

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