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Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo made some claims about the growth of the country’s aviation sector when he commissioned the newly- constructed Prempeh I International Airport in Kumasi in the Ashanti region. DUBAWA has fact-checked some of the claims in its campaign against misinformation and disinformation in the West African country.
Claim 1: The Ghanaian leader said international passenger traffic to the country was 2,914,661 in 2023 compared to “2019 through ports of 2,328,758 persons, representing a 25% increase.”
Verdict: This is false. DUBAWA’s checks with the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority showed international passenger traffic to Ghana in 2023 was not 2,914,661 persons as alleged by the Ghanaian leader. The data released by the aviation regulator revealed that the actual international passenger traffic in the country was 2,138,999 persons. Also, the figure for 2019 was not 2,328,758 persons as claimed by Mr Akufo-Addo, but rather 2,110,416 persons, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority has disclosed.
Full Text
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has expressed satisfaction with the significant progress made in the country’s aviation sector.
Speaking at the commissioning of the newly-named Prempeh I International Airport in Kumasi in the Ashanti region formerly the Kumasi Airport, the Ghanaian leader said the aviation sector has witnessed “overall growth since 2019.”
“Ghana has experienced a considerable overall growth in air passenger traffic onboard domestic and international routes. At the end of 2023, international passenger traffic comprised 2,914,661 persons compared to the 2019 through port of 2,328,758 persons representing a 25% increase.”
See a video of the President’s speech posted on YouTube, starting from minutes 14:04 to 18:23. Also, see here and here for news reports on the claim.
Verification
DUBAWA’s checks with the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority showed international passenger traffic to Ghana in 2023 was not 2, 914,661 persons as alleged by the Ghanaian leader.
International passenger traffic refers to moving persons, baggage, cargo, containers, conveyances, goods, or postal parcels across an international border, including international trade.
According to the data released by the aviation regulator, the actual international passenger traffic to the country was 2,138,999 persons and not 2,914,661 persons.
The report published by Ghana’s aviation regulator in 2024 showed that the international passenger arrivals in 2023 amounted to 1,032,406 persons while the figure for departure was 1,106,593 persons.
Also, the figure for 2019 was not 2,328,758 persons as claimed by Mr Akufo-Addo, but rather 2,110,416 persons, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority has further disclosed.
The international passenger arrival in 2019 was 1,054,894 persons as against the departure figure of 1,055,522 persons, bringing the total to 2,110,416 persons, the data published by GCAA has revealed.
Conclusion
As alleged by the Ghanaian leader, the international passenger traffic to Ghana in 2023 was not 2,914,661 persons according to data released by the country’s aviation regulator. Rather the actual international passenger traffic to the country in 2023 was 2,138,999 persons, according to confirmation by GCAA.
Claim 2: Mr Akufo-Addo claimed that domestic passenger traffic increased from 690,314 persons in 2019 to 775,662 persons at the end of 2023.
Verdict: This is true. DUBAWA’s checks have revealed that the domestic passenger traffic to Ghana in 2019 was 690,314 persons as claimed by the Ghanaian leader. Also, the 2023 domestic passenger traffic was 775,662 persons, data published by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed.
Full Text
Mr Akufo-Addo said the massive work of his government in the aviation sector is yielding some positive results.
Addressing Ghanaians during the commissioning of the newly-named Prempeh I International Airport in Kumasi in the Ashanti region formerly the Kumasi Airport, the Ghanaian leader said:
“Ghana has experienced a considerable overall growth in air passenger traffic onboard domestic and international routes… Domestic passenger traffic increased from 690,314 persons in 2019 to 775, 662 persons at the end of 2023.”
See a video of the President’s speech posted on YouTube from minutes 14:04 to 18:23. Also, see here and here for news reports on the claim.
Verification
DUBAWA’s checks have revealed that the domestic passenger traffic to Ghana in 2019 was 690,314 persons as claimed by the Ghanaian leader.
Domestic passenger traffic refers to the total movement of passengers using inland transport on a given network between the airport of interest and another airport in the same country.
According to the data released by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, the actual domestic passenger traffic for 2019 was 690,314 persons, averaging 1,891.3 persons per day. The figure the aviation regulator revealed represented an average of 57,526.2 persons monthly.
Also, the 2023 domestic passenger traffic was 775,662 persons, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed. The domestic passenger traffic rose from 57,948 persons in January 2019 to 75,590 persons at the end of December 2019.
Conclusion
It is, therefore, true that the domestic passenger traffic in Ghana was 690,314 persons in 2019 and that of 2023 was 775,662 persons as claimed by the Ghanaian leader. Data released by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed the figures put out by Mr Akufo-Addo.
