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The government of Ghana has rejected British Airways’ decision to change the London-Accra-London route from Heathrow Airport to Gatwick Airport.
This was in a circular from the Ministry of Aviation.
British Airways has already made its decision known without much explanation, the circular revealed.
What this means for Ghanaian travelers to the UK is that all BA flights to London-Accra-London will originate and end at London Gatwick Airport. This begins next summer in June.
According to the Ministry of Aviation, British Airways went ahead with this measure without consulting the Government of Ghana.
“At that meeting, the BA team pledged to provide more information and data analysis to support the rationale for the changes to their services from London Heathrow Airport to London Gatwick Airport and to enable the Government of Ghana to make a final decision. position on the matter. The BA team has yet to provide the promised information, ”excerpts from the statement revealed.
To this end, the Ministry of Aviation has started talks with British Airways to rescind its decision, asking the airline to “respect the position of the Government of Ghana and defend the mutual interest of both countries.”
British Airways secures £ 2bn loan
In other related news, British Airways has secured a £ 2bn loan to help it weather the covid-19 pandemic and be ready for a recovery in demand.
The airline’s owner, International Airlines Group (IAG), which also owns Iberia and Aer Lingus, said the five-year credit line was underwritten by a syndicate of banks and is partially guaranteed by UK Export Finance (UKEF ) of the government.
British Airways, which plans to withdraw the loan in January, can repay the loan at any time with notice, but is subject to some restrictions on the airline’s payment of dividends to IAG.
IAG said the loan “will provide British Airways with the operational and strategic flexibility to take advantage of a partial recovery in air travel demand in 2021 as Covid-19 vaccines are distributed around the world.”
It comes as IAG also reorganized its board to comply with the new EU ownership and control rules after Brexit.
The group has now changed the composition of its board to have a majority of independent European non-executive directors. Deborah Kerr, Maria Fernanda Mejia and Steve Gunning have stepped down from the board, while Peggy Bruzelius, Eva Castillo Sanz and Heather Ann McSharry have joined her, IAG said.
