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Hub-Aspiring Ghana Grants South African Airways The Accra-London Route

Hub-Aspiring Ghana Grants South African Airways The Accra-London Route

The Ghana government has granted South Africa Airways Fifth Freedom traffic rights to operate an Accra-London route, Osei Owusu Amankwaah reported in Star FM Online.

South Africa Airways already operates from Accra to Washington, D.C. and plans to activate its Accra-New York route by the end of 2016.

In the complicated world of commercial aviation restrictions and bilateral treaties, Fifth Freedom is the right of an airline from one country to land in a second country, then pick up passengers and fly on to a third country, according to The Travel Insider.

This means that SAA, after satisfying the criteria of both countries, can fly direct from Accra to London.

Adding flights between Accra and Washington, D.C. was a significant achievement for SAA and strengthened SAA’s position in West Africa, the airline said a year ago when it launched the service, FlySAA reported.

Ghana will allow SAA to fly direct from Accra to London due to the success SAA has had with its direct flight to Washington, D.C., said Ghanaian Transport Minister Fiifi Kwetey.

SAA, the only four-star rated carrier in Africa, flies four times a week to Washington, D.C. on its A340-600s aircraft.

“We are confident that just as they have done very well on the current route, once this also goes through we will definitely see quite a lot of exciting opportunities on the Accra-London route as well,” Kwetey said at an event marking the first anniversary of SAA’s direct flights to D.C.

Ghana has adopted a liberalized aviation policy because it wants to become an aviation hub in Africa, according to an earlier AFKInsider report.

West Africa is a lucrative route for many carriers, and the U.S.-West Africa link has become a cash cow since U.S.-based United Airlines exited Lagos in July, taking 3,000 seats off the U.S. route, Graphic Online reported.

South Africa Airways has 74 percent market share on the Accra-Washington, D.C. route, said Gloria Yirenkyi, SAA country manager.

The route has seen 14 percent growth in the past year. SAA might increase frequency on the Washington, D.C. route based demand.