Ghana International Airlines Limited (GIA) yesterday announced that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has recognized the airline and issued the new national carrier with the airline code ?GO.? GIA is now able to publish in computer reservation systems, allowing travel agents in every corner of the world to view flight operations during the summer of 2005.

Destinations launched by GIA during the summer will include Lagos, Abidjan, Monrovia, Freetown, Bamako, Ouagadougou, Banul, Conakry and Dakar.

In the winter schedules, GIA plans to add non-stop service between Accra and London and between Accra and Dusseldorf.

?The new national airline will become a flag bearer for Ghana across Africa and, indeed, across the world?, said J. Ralph Atkin, chief executive officer of GIA. ?Ghanaians everywhere will be proud of GIA.?

GIA is the new national carrier of Ghana and is a Ghanaian Company formed in partnership between the Government of Ghana and a consortium of international private investors.

Operating a fleet of modern and efficient Boeing 767-300ER and MD 90 aircraft, GIA plans to develop Accra as the ?Gateway to Africa,? providing connections from Europe and North America to Accra and onward within Africa.