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Ghana’s second international Airport, the Tamale Airport is ready for use by both domestic and overseas players in the aviation industry, the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) has disclosed.

The airport which is now equipped with an extended runway (3,940metres) and a complete lighting system to accommodate bigger aircraft will tomorrow witness the operation of its first international flight to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The refurbished facility will see the maiden flight of Muslims from Northern Ghana to Mecca for the annual Hajj pilgrimage. This is expected to halt the annual ritual where pilgrims from the northern part of Ghana spend days in Accra before connecting to Mecca with the attendant teething spates of frustration.

Business Finder has learnt that the first flight out of the newly refurbished Airport will go in tandem with the inauguration by the President, Mr John Dramani Mahama of the first phase of the facility.

“The expansion of the airport will aid facilitation of Hajj pilgrims direct from Tamale to Jeddah and also increase economic activity in the region; the airport will also provide services to the sub-Saharan regions including Burkina Faso and Mali,” a statement from GACL explained.

The GACL maintains that the new international Airport is comparable the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) and “will allow aircraft which for any reason can’t land in KIA to be diverted to Tamale.”

According to GACL, currently, none of the regional airports has the capacity of accommodating wide-bodied aircraft such as the Boeing 747- 800 series. 

“Any such aircraft would have otherwise been diverted to one the neighboring West African countries and hence revenue losses made to the GACL and the State at large,” the Airport company said.

The upgrading and expansion of the Airport also feeds into the requirement of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for States to have an alternate airport that has similar capacity as the main airport in use in the country. 

ICAO Annex 6.4.3.4 (a) stipulates that “No person may release or takeoff an aircraft without a suitable takeoff alternate specified in the flight release if it would not be possible to return to the aerodrome of departure. “ This, GACL maintained made it mandatory for countries to make provision for alternate airports before airlines commence operations.

To enhance the financial viability of the airport, the Master Plan includes the development of the airport into an aerotropolis. 

This GACL explained will entail the development of an airport city which  will provide one stop airport support facilities including hotels, conferencing facilities, shops, restaurants  among others. 

“There will be a mix market high density commercial developments to serve as an economic growth node; it will also generate employment and improve income in the local economy,” the statement added.