As the omicron variant of covid-19 threatens to erode gains made in the fight against the pandemic, Ghana’s health authorities and the Aviation Authority, have issued strict guidelines to airlines flying passengers into the country.
In a statement announcing new plans to guard against another wave of COVID-19 infections, the authorities said effective Tuesday, December 14, 2021, persons flying in and out of the country are to be fully vaccinated and to strictly follow stipulated guidelines for both self-preservation and the protection of the larger society.
They also warned that Airlines which bring in passengers to the Kotoka International Airport who are not fully vaccinated shall be surcharged U$3,500 per passenger; and Airlines which board passengers without PCR test results, or transport and disembark passengers with Positive PCR test results into Accra will also be fined US$3,500 per passenger.
While non-Ghanaians who fall into this category may be denied entry and returned to the point of embarkation at a cost to the Airline, Ghanaian passengers will be allowed entry but subject to 14 days of mandatory quarantine at a designated facility.
Additionally, no airline is allowed to bring passengers into Ghana without first pre-validating their TT code (received from a TT lab) or TC issued online after a genuine PCR test result has been uploaded and analyzed using the PanaBIOS or Global Haven software.
According to the Ghana Aviation Authority, airlines that flout the directive will also be surcharged US$3,500 per passenger.
The Ghana health Service in an earlier release said it has had to adopt these stringent measures on both airlines and their passengers because 34 cases of the omicron variant, which is said to be more transmissible, have so far been detected at the Kotoka International Airport; with the Airport alone accounting for about 64% of the country’s total case count.