Accra, Aug. 30, GNA- Ghana will on Tuesday, September 1, 2020, open its air borders to international travel, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced Sunday.
Thus, the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), which was closed to international passenger arrivals since March 21, 2020, when the country recorded its first two COVID-19 cases, resumes operations Tuesday.
The decision has been communicated to airlines across the world. Domestic flights from KIA resumed last May.
In a televised national address, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the reopening of the KIA was the result of the institution of a raft of measures prioritising the health and safety of passengers, airport and airline staff.
He said he was satisfied with the installation of COVID-19 testing facilities and the level of preparedness of public health officials to screen all passengers disembarking at the airport.
The President said passengers arriving in Ghana must possess a negative COVID-19 PCR test result done 72 hours before departure from country of origin from an accredited laboratory.
Upon disembarking from the aeroplane, passengers will undergo a mandatory COVID-19 test at the airport terminal and the result would be available within 30 minutes. Passengers are required to pay for the test.
Passengers who returned positive test results would be handled by the health authorities for further clinical assessment and management
Those who test negative would be allowed into the country. But children below the ages of five would not be required to undergo testing at the airport.
President Akufo-Addo said all airlines had been instructed to ensure compliance with the directive for all passengers wishing to travel to Ghana.
He warned that airlines who failed to observe those set of rules would be duly sanctioned.
The President also announced that the Ministries of Information, Health and Aviation, and their respective agencies would in the coming days give further details the protocols surrounding the re-opening the KIA and the procedures to be adhered to by passengers arriving in Ghana.
The country’s land and sea, borders, however, remains closed to human traffic until further notice.
GNA