The President in his State of the Nation Address last month, announced the death of Ghana Airways. Perhaps what he only rescheduled, as has been the norm with burial in Ghana, was when to post the obituary notice for the airline once referred to as our??Star in the Sky?.

Event unfolding in the aftermath of the President?s prophetic statement show that just like the dead, sooner than latter, the once proud airline of Ghanaians would be obliterated and bequeathed to ?heirs? who incidentally are not Ghanaians. This is because Ghanair has made a dramatic U-turn and gone back into bed with baby South African Airline, Nationwide and two other minor airlines in a move by which Ghanair is expected to lose its majority shares, thus its identity.

The deal is expected to be sealed by the end of March this year. It is as if Ghanair, once the pride of the nation, is doomed to fail and lose out on anything that would make the ailing airline become the ?Star in the Sky? that it is meant to be. After losing out on its fleet of aircrafts and passengers to other airlines as well as being involved in many scandals, Ghanair our sources have intimated, has lost an exclusive right it held to supply major airlines operating in Ghana their on flight meal requirements. As if that is not enough, Ghanair, we gathered as part of the strategic arrangement with Nationwide and the minor airlines, is expected to lay off all Flight attendants who have no degrees or are not graduates.

The strategic move, investigations have revealed, makes it imperative for the airline to lay off all staff of its Cabin Crew. The Airline is expected to conduct interviews for only degree holders to be employed as Flight Attendants. The Independent gathered that the interview is scheduled for March 2004. Credible information pieced together by this paper, indicate that almost all staff of the airline?s Cabin Crew are either Ordinary or Advance Level holders, with a few diploma holders.

The recently employed ones did so, on the strength of their Senior Secondary School Certificates. Sources established that the condition to lay off the Cabin Crew, was a major pre-requisite set out by Ghana?s strategic partnership, which shockingly includes baby South African Airline, Nationwide, which move to take over the airline was torpedoed by The Independent some time last year.