Joseph Kofi Adda
THE Minister of Aviation, Joseph Kofi Adda, has said operation of the Wa Airport has been stalled by the presence eight communication masts sitting in the airspace and approach path around the airport.
He stated that the masts are owned by Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Poupeli FM, W95.5 FM, Radio Upper West, Vodafone, and Helios (used by Airtel/Tigo).
“These masts penetrated the Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) for the Wa Airport. To remedy the situation, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority in a letter dated 20th January 2020 accordingly directed the owners of the masts to remove them within fifteen (15) working days in the interest of safety of aircraft operations,” he said.
Responding to questions on the Floor of the Parliament yesterday, the minister indicated that the letter further stated that failure to comply with the directive would compel the authority to remove the masts at a cost to the operators and summary conviction and fine to be paid in accordance with the Ghana Civil Aviation Act.
“It must be stated that these same letters were copied to the Upper West Regional Minister and the National Security Coordinator,” he pointed out.
He said that “Mr. Speaker, none of the owners of the masts has since responded to the directive and so the authority was collaborating with the appropriate agencies to remove the masts and surcharge the owners when the Covid-l9 pandemic issue came up and stalled the process.”
According to him, the GCAA has consequently resumed its collaboration with the appropriate agencies to get the masts removed as soon as practicable.
He said the rehabilitation of the Wa Airport was completed in 2019 with the assessment of the Pavement Classification Number (PCN) as the final activity conducted on the runway.
“This subsequently paved the way for Africa World Airlines (AWA) to start operations in October 2019,” he disclosed.
“I would like to bring to the attention of this House that the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has established a series of Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) Standards that define the limits to which objects may project or penetrate into the airspace of an airport.”
He, however, indicated that the presence of the mast does not significantly impede flight operations, especially by AWA, as there is a mitigation measure through an approach procedure designed by GCAA for use by the airlines on the approach path.
“GCAA is currently collaborating with industry stakeholders to reassess the procedures on how flights can adjust a new profile for departure procedures taking into consideration the Vodafone and Helios towers directly sited on the approach path,” he stated.
He pointed out that another obstacle that had come to the ministry’s notice was the weakness of the Apron area of the airport, which resulted in the parking of the aircraft on the runway by Africa World Airlines.
“The attention of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) has been drawn to this and efforts are being made to quickly repair the Apron,” he noted.
“Mr. Speaker, I wish to conclude by saying that the suspension of flight operations to Wa by AWA in particular is mainly due to the Covid-19 and dwindling passenger numbers due to the pandemic and not necessarily the above stated issues.
“I, therefore, wish to assure this House that efforts are being made to expeditiously fix the problems relating to the obstacles. AWA is also confident to start operations when the situation with Covid-19 and the passenger numbers improve,” he submitted.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House