Accra, Nov 21, GNA - Mrs. Esi Annor Sackey, Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Limited(GACL), says the company is well prepared for the African Cup of Nations Tournament which is to be hosted in the country early next year.

She said since passenger fare-through was bound to increase towards and during the tournament, the company was putting in measures to ensure the comfort of passengers.

Speaking at a cocktail held in Accra to officially introduce the board of the GACL to the media and stake- holders in the aviation industry, Mrs Annor noted that the GACL had the responsibility of providing world class airport services. She said with the vision of becoming an aviation hub in West Africa, there was the need to remove bottlenecks and attract more airport operators.

"We would work to ensure that the GACL plays an important role in the socio-economic development of Ghana through aviation," she said. She noted that since safety was crucial in aviation, the GACL would collaborate with all of its stakeholders to ensure that safety measures were implemented to the letter at all airports within the country. Dr. Samuell Annor, Board Chairman of the GACL, said there was still a lot more room for improvement so far as aviation in the country was concerned.

He said a 15 percent growth in passenger fare through was, for example, not good enough, adding that there was the need to strive to send the figure up to beyond 20 percent.

The Board chairman said with the support of the government, the company would immensely improve upon aviation in the country. The Civil Aviation Act 678, passed in November 2004, contained transitional provisions allowing for the dichotomy of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority into two entities, namely the Ghana Airports Company Ltd (GACL) and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). The GACL was registered as a limited liability company in January 2006 with the responsibility for planning, developing, managing and maintaining all airports and aerodromes in Ghana, whilst the GCAA is now responsible for the provision of air navigation services and safety regulation.

The company commenced business on January 1 2007.