Domestic Airlines are to be grounded for about two more weeks as a result of bad weather caused by the harmattan.
The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in a “Notice to Air Men [NOTAM],” on Saturday December 5, warned that the weather may only be safe for flights after December 15, 2015.
Domestic airlines would thus be grounded until that time, unless a dramatic change in the weather pattern.
[contextly_sidebar id=”aEBAWCNjXbUYTH6JLL3irxnA5I4EG2v7″]This will hit hard on their revenues considering that the month of December, is the peak period for air travels due to the Christmas festivities.
This also means that those who travel by air will be stranded and compelled to opt for road transport.
Citi News has gathered that most of the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and businesses that operate in the Northern Region have either resorted to using road transport or cancelled their appointments there for now.
Prior to the notice from the GCAA, some of the airline operators had cancelled scheduled flights since Wednesday as a result of the bad weather.
Ghana’s harmattan season, which comes with cold and dryness particularly in the mornings, started becoming visible on Tuesday December 1.
As a result, domestic airlines like Starbow have since Wednesday suspended flights to the Northern Regional capital, Tamale.
Tamale, which is known to be a dry area, has thus been the most affected by the onset of the harmattan.
A source at the Kotoka International Airport who spoke to Citi News said some scheduled flights for Kumasi and Sunyani have also been cancelled.
Only a Starbow scheduled flight went to Takoradi on the morning of Friday December 4. All others were cancelled.
It is however unclear yet whether the situation will also affect international flights.
The Harmattan is a cold-dry and dusty trade wind, blowing over the West African subcontinent.
Harmattan is usually characterized by strong wind, which blows southwest from the Sahara desert into the Gulf of Guinea between November and March.
The resultant effect of this dryness among other things is the poor visibility that affects air travel.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana