Bede Ziedeng, MP for Lawra has said that the demand for daily flights to and from Wa, the Upper West Regional capital was due purely due to the increased demand from convenient and quick means of transport in and out of the region.
After the Minister’s questions on the Floor of Parliament about why the Wa Aiport only 3 scheduled flights, the Upper West Regional Minister took to his Facebook page to disclose that daily flights would begin from next week.
This revelation brought some scepticism as many thought that there would not be enough market for the daily flights. However, speaking on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East, Mr. Ziedeng noted that the commercial viability of daily flights to the Upper West Region was assured.
Using himself as an example, he said he has had to pay premiums on air tickets to the Upper West Region because of the limited seating available three times a week. He said MPs like himself, who could spend as much as Ghc2000 on fuel on trips from the national capital to Wa, would prefer the flights as cheaper alternatives.
He said currently, standard prices of the airfares stand Ghc400 thus making a round trip cost Ghc800; a cheaper option for many who fueled their own vehicles to the region.
He said while there has been no definitive timeline for the start of the daily flights, Passion Air has shown great interest. He also called for more local airlines to take advantage of the opportunities that abound.
On the development of the Wa Airport, Mr. Ziedeng disclosed that while there may be an extension of the runway and the construction of hangers to accommodate more aeroplanes at the current location, plans are far advanced for the building of a new Airport at Kperisi, a suburb of Wa; the Upper West Regional capital.
“There are plans to build a new airport; a totally new one. It would be built at a place they call Kperisi. The land has been acquired around that place and it is just left with the money to begin construction”.
“In terms of the existing Airport, the expansion that can be done is to provide a parking lot so that other aircrafts can park,” he said.
A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
