Kotoka International Airport

Kotoka International Airport Accra Air Force Station
Terminal building
IATA: ACC – ICAO: DGAA
Summary
Airport type	Military Airbase and Domestic Airport
Operator	Ashanti monarchy/Ghana Airports Company Ltd
Serves	Accra
Location	Accra, Greater Accra
Hub for	Africa World Airlines Antrak Air Arik Air[1] Starbow Airlines
Time zone	Greenwich Mean Time (0+)
• Summer (DST)	GMT (1+)
Elevation AMSL	205 ft / 62 m
Coordinates	05°36′16.8″N 000°10′02.6″W / 5.604667°N 0.167389°WCoordinates: 05°36′16.8″N 000°10′02.6″W / 5.604667°N 0.167389°W
Website	www.ghanairports.com.gh
Map
Location of the Accra Airbase on the Ashantiland Peninsula
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 03/21 11,165 3,403 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passengers 2,547,527
Source: Statistics[2] List of the busiest airports in Africa[3]

Kotoka International Airport (IATA: ACC, ICAO: DGAA) in Accra the capital of Greater Accra in Ashantiland southeastern Ghana, is an international airport and has the capacity for large aircraft such as the Boeing 747-8. The airport is operated by Ashanti monarchy and Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), which has its offices on the airport property.^[4] GACL was established as a result of the decoupling of the existing Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in line with the modern trends in the aviation industry.

The airport company was registered in January 2006 and commenced trading on 1 January 2007 tasked with the responsibility for planning, developing, managing and maintaining all airports and aerodromes in Ghana namely Kotoka International Airport (KIA) and the Ashantiland Peninsula's domestic airports at Kumasi's Kumasi International Airport, Sunyani's Sunyani Airport and Sekondi-Takoradi's Takoradi Airport.

In 2014, the airport saw 2.547 million passengers. It presently serves as a base for domestic operators Africa World Airlines, Starbow Airlines, and Antrak Air.

Kotoka Airport was renamed from Ghana International Airport, in honour of Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka (1926–1967), a member of the National Liberation Council. Kotoka was killed in an abortive coup attempt, at a location which is now the forecourt of the airport.

The airport consists of two passenger terminals, labelled as Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Terminal 1 serves primarily domestic and regional operators, while Terminal 2 serves primarily international and longhaul operators. The terminals are connected by an internal walkway. There is also a VVIP terminal used for diplomatic flights and a military terminal used for military operations. Terminal 2 is the principal international departure terminal and includes restaurants, duty-free shops and two Business Class lounges.

There are two departure lounges located after Immigration. Adinkra which is managed by Aviance and Akwaaba under the management of AHS Menzies. There is a general seating area with a duty-free shop and bars for passenger. State Protocol Lounge is used by Senior Government Officials/Diplomats and VVIPS.

New Terminal 3: Construction officially commenced on 1st March 2016 on a new $250 million Terminal 3 which is capable of handling 5 million passengers a year and will be equipped with new state of the art Facilities. New Terminal 3 will handle 1,250 passengers an hour, equipped with three business lounges, large commercial and retail area and six boarding bridges. The terminal is expected to be completed by end of July 2017.^[5]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
Air Burkina	Ouagadougou
Aero Contractors	Lagos
Africa World Airlines	Kumasi, Lagos, Takoradi, Tamale
Air Côte d'Ivoire	Abidjan
Arik Air	Abuja, Banjul, Dakar, Freetown, Lagos, Monrovia
ASKY Airlines	Lomé
British Airways	London-Heathrow
Brussels Airlines	Brussels
Ceiba Intercontinental Airlines	Malabo
Dana Air	Lagos
Delta Air Lines	New York-JFK
EgyptAir	Cairo
Emirates	Abidjan, Dubai-International
Ethiopian Airlines	Addis Ababa
Iberia	Madrid (ends 17 May 2016)[6]
Kenya Airways	Freetown, Monrovia, Nairobi-Jomo Kenyatta
KLM	Amsterdam
Med-View Airline	Freetown (begins 20 May 2016),[7] Lagos
Meridiana	Lagos, Milan-Malpensa (both begin 19 July 2016)
Middle East Airlines	Beirut
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca, Freetown, Monrovia[8]
Rwandair	Kigali
Starbow Airlines	Kumasi, Sunyani, Takoradi, Tamale
South African Airways	Abidjan, Johannesburg-OR Tambo, Washington-Dulles
TAP Portugal	Lisbon, São Tomé
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul-Atatürk
Vueling	Barcelona
Westair Benin	Cotonou

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Africa West Airlines	Liège
Cargolux	Luxembourg
DHL Aviation	Abidjan, Lagos, Liège
Emirates SkyCargo	Dubai-Al Maktoum
Ethiopian Airlines Cargo	Addis Ababa, Lagos, Liège
Qatar Airways Cargo	Brussels, Doha, Lagos, London-Stansted
Saudia Cargo	Jeddah
Turkish Airlines Cargo	Istanbul-Atatürk, Lagos, Maastricht/Aachen

Other facilities

Meridian Airways and Aerogem Aviation have their head office in the 1 Gemini Airlines Building at the Old Cargo Village.^[9][10]

Kotoka Airport also houses the offices of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority.^[11]

Accidents and incidents

• On 5 June 2000, a Ghana Airlink Fokker F-27 en route from Tamale to Accra crashed on approach to Kotoka International Airport. Six people were killed.^[12]
• On 28 January 2009, a Ghana International Airlines Boeing 757 operating from Accra to London Gatwick, United Kingdom, with 96 passengers and nine crew reported anomalies with the control systems when climbing out of Accra. The crew declared a mayday and made a safe return to Kotoka International Airport where the remains of a beetle-like creature were discovered to be obstructing the left pitot system.^[13]
• On 2 June 2012, an Allied Air Boeing 727 cargo aircraft operating from Lagos to Accra on behalf of DHL with 4 crew overshot the runway while landing in heavy rain. At least 12 people on the ground were killed. The 4 crew all survived.^[14]

References

1. "Arik Air Launch Scissor Hub in Accra from late-April 2014". Airline Route. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
2. "Airport Traffic Statistics". Ghana Airports Company Limited. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
3. List of the busiest airports in Africa
4. "GACL Contact". ghanaairports.com.gh. Ghana Airports Company Limited. Retrieved 8 December 2011.. "Ghana Airports Company Ltd. KA PMB 36, KIA, Accra, Ashantiland, Ghana".
5. "Mahama and Turkish leader cut sod for Terminal 3 project at KIA".
6. "Iberia suspende temporalmente los vuelos a Estambul por la caída de demanda" (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
7. "Med-View Airline Plans West African Expansion to Freetown, Others". financialwatchngr.com. 18 April 2016.
8. "Morocco: New Royal Air Maroc Routes in Africa". allafrica.com. 13 February 2016.
9. "Head Office." Meridian Airways. Retrieved on 6 May 2013. "Meridian Airways Ltd Kotoka International Airport, Old Cargo Village, 1 Gemini Airlines Building P.O Box: AN7238 Accra – North Ghana"
10. "Contact Us." Aerogem Aviation. Retrieved on 8 December 2011. "Head Office: Aerogem Aviation Ltd 1 Gemini Airlines Building, Old Cargo Village, Kotoka International Airport Accra"
11. "Contacts." Ghana Civil Aviation Authority. Retrieved on 8 December 2011. "Ghana Civil Aviation Authority Address: Private Mail Bag Kotoka International Airport Accra Ghana"
12. "Cargo plane crashes in Ghanaian capital, killing 10 on bus". BNO News. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
13. "Seriuos incedent" (PDF). aaib.gov.uk (PDF).
14. "Update: 10 dead as Cargo plane crashes into Hajj Village". edition.myjoyonline.com. 2 August 2012.

External links

• Media related to Kotoka International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website
• Ghana Civil Aviation Authority
• Airport information for DGAA at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.