As the harmattan season intensifies a couple of international flights traveling to Nigeria’s Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos have been diverted to Ghana’s Kotoka International Airport due to poor visibility.
The Director, Air Traffic Services at Kotoka , Mr. Edward Baah in an interview on Citi News, said since the night of February 11, 2020, a number of Lagos-bound flights have sought refuge at Kotoka pending clarity in the weather condition which is said to be poor particularly in the Benin airspace heading to Lagos.
Mr. Baah stated that over five flights which include two Emirates, one from Rwanda air, British Airways and Qatar Airlines, have all had to stop over in the capital, Accra.
The situation, according him, has caused an unusual long passenger queues at Kotoka International Airports leading to health inspection and immigration services.
“The size of aircraft that are diverting are wide-bodied that can carry about 400 passengers, so obviously they will create a lot of pressure at the immigration and the arrival hall,” he stated.
According to him, the respective airlines have made arrangements to accommodate their passengers until visibility improves.
Mr. Baah said his outreach expects more flights to make a detour to Accra, but he cautioned that there is a limit to how much flights Accra can accommodate and that when the limit is reached, other diverted flights would have to seek refuge elsewhere.
By Emmanuel Amewugah, Daily Mail GH
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