Ho Airport Explained

Ho Airport
Iata:HZO
Icao:DGAH[1]
Type:Public
Owner-Oper:Ghana Airports Company Limited
City-Served:Ho, Ghana
Location:Ho
Timezone:Greenwich Mean Time
Utc:GMT
Metric-Elev:y
Coordinates:6.5819°N 0.5296°W
Pushpin Map:Ghana
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Ghana
R1-Number:05/23
R1-Length-M:1900
R1-Length-F:6234
R1-Surface:Asphalt
Metric-Rwy:y
Stat1-Header:Passengers
Stat1-Data:969
Stat-Year:2022

Ho Airport is a regional airport built to serve Ho in the Volta Region of Ghana. Construction was completed in 2017, although the airport was not opened to commercial traffic until 2021.

History

On 18 September 2015, President John Dramani Mahama held a groundbreaking ceremony for Ho Airport.[2] The construction of the airport is in line with the Ghanaian government's goal to have airports in each of the country's regions. The cost of construction is estimated to be US$25 million, provided by Ghana Airports Company Limited.[3] The company building Ho Airport stated in May 2017 that the project would be finished by the end of 2017.[4] Construction began in September 2015 and was expected to cost US$25 million. Ultimately, airport will cover, with a passenger terminal and a 1900m (6,200feet) runway.

Africa World Airlines expressed interest in flying to Ho Airport once formally commissioned by the relevant authorities.[5] However, the Minister of Transport stated the airport was intentionally being left idle due to the absence of a state owned carrier.[6]

In January 2021, Africa World Airlines announced that services will begin in April 2021 with two weekly services from Accra.[7] On 15 April 2021, Africa World Airlines made the first test flight to Ho Airport with an Embraer 145 jet aircraft.[8] The flight was co-piloted by Togbe Afede XIV, who is also the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State.[9]

Passion Air had an inaugural flight from the Kotoka International Airport in Accra to the Ho Airport on 1 December 2021.[10] The airline announced that its first commercial flights will be on 4 December 2021 to and from Accra.[11] The airline initially plans to fly to Ho twice a week.[12] Flights were suspended in March 2022, citing low patronage and high fuel costs.[13]

Airlines and destinations

All scheduled flights to Ho were suspended in March 2022, with Passion Air citing low patronage and high fuel costs as the reasons.[13] Africa World Airlines also confirmed that it had decided not to launch flights to Ho due to operational challenges.[14]

Statistics

These data show number of passengers movements into the airport, according to the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority.

Year2019202020212022
Passengers 0 0 350 969
Reference [15] [16]

Infrastructure

Ho Airport will cover . It will have a runway with dimensions 1900x and a terminal that can handle 150,000 passengers annually.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Airport codes Ho, Ghana (GH) . Airport codes.
  2. News: Ho goes agog as Prez Mahama cuts sod for airport . . 19 September 2015 . 23 January 2017 . Accra . Boadu, Kwame . Anane, Mary.
  3. News: Ghana to open new domestic airports at Ho and Wa . ch-aviation . 16 January 2017 . 23 January 2017.
  4. News: Ho Airport to become training hub. Daily Graphic. Anane, Mary. 23 May 2017. 5 August 2017.
  5. News: Africa World Airlines ready to use Ho Airport. Daily Graphic. 18 September 2020.
  6. News: Ho Airport begins commercial flights in April. 8 April 2021. Modern Ghana. Daily Guide.
  7. Web site: Africa World Airlines to begin flights to Ho airport. Citi News. 28 January 2021. Benjamin Aklama.
  8. Web site: Africa World Airlines to embark on test flight to Ho airport today. 15 April 2021. Citi News. Delali Adogla-Bessa.
  9. Web site: AWA completes its first commercial flight to Ho Airport. Maxwell Awumh. Ghana News Agency. 15 April 2021.
  10. Web site: Ho Airport receives first domestic flight . GhanaWeb . 2 December 2021 . en . 1 December 2021.
  11. Web site: Achivors . Jemima . PassionAir commences Ho-Accra flights December 4 . Graphic Online . 2 December 2021 . en-gb . 25 November 2021.
  12. Web site: Kwofi . Maclean . PassionAir breathes life into 2 domestic airports . Graphic Online . 2 December 2021 . en-gb . 30 November 2021.
  13. Web site: PassionAir suspend flights to Ho over fuel price hikes, high exchange rates . Modern Ghana. 25 March 2022 .
  14. Web site: Airlines ghost Ho airport. Daily Graphic. 5 April 2022. Maclean Kwofi.
  15. Web site: Domestic Passenger Distribution (per Airport) 2019 . 2023-07-04 . Ghana Civil Aviation Authority.
  16. Web site: Domestic Passenger Distribution (per Month and per Airport) 2021 . 2023-07-04 . Ghana Civil Aviation Authority.