After being sworn in as President of the Republic of Ghana on January 7, 2025, John Dramani Mahama, has used the Dassault Falcon 900EX-Easy for the first time for an international trip to Kenya.
He flew in the presidential jet to participate in a high-level retreat on African Union institutional reforms.
The retreat, scheduled for January 26-27, 2025, in Nairobi, will see African leaders discuss the progress and future of AU reforms.
The event, hosted at the invitation of Kenya’s President, William Ruto, will focus on enhancing the efficiency, accountability, and sustainability of the AU, as the organisation seeks to better address the continent’s challenges.
Before his international travel with the presidential jet, public data from the flight tracking platform, Flightradar24, showed that the jet was used for a domestic trip from Accra to Takoradi and back on Thursday, January 23, 2025.
It further indicated that the jet departed from Accra on Friday, January 25, 2025, made a stop in Luanda, Angola, and landed in Nairobi later on Saturday evening.
This comes after Mahama was criticised on social media for using his brother's private jet for official trips to The Gambia and Senegal.
Speaking on Saturday, January 18, 2025, the Acting Spokesperson for President Mahama, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, said the use of the private jet was necessitated by a pending review of the presidential aircraft and the need to not burden the public purse.
He stated that President Mahama was awaiting a detailed report on the condition of the Communications Squadron, the Air Force unit responsible for managing the presidential fleet.
The Dassault Falcon 900EX-Easy has been in use as Ghana's presidential aircraft since 2011.
The $37 million presidential jet has served former presidents, including the late John Evans Atta-Mills, John Dramani Mahama during his first term as president, and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Typically configured to seat between 12 and 19 passengers, the aircraft provides ample space for meetings, rest, and relaxation during long flights.
Take a look at the flight trip details provided by Flightradar24:
SA/AE