The Airport division of the Ghana Meteorological Agency has told Citi Business News, it has resumed operations following a temporary air site permit issued to its workers by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
Activities of the meteorological unit were suspended last Friday following their inability to access the observatory site.
The development, Citi Business News understands was as a result of the met agency’s refusal to pay the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), for the permit to the observatory site.
The Ghana Meteorological Agency provides information to airlines to guide the taking off and landing of all flights at the airport. The brawl between the Ghana Meteorological Agency and the Ghana Airports Company Limited has existed for over a year now.
A similar situation last year resulted in the meteorological agency suspending its operations. The issue was re-ignited last Friday following the expiration of the pass issued by the Ghana Airports company limited.
A couple of airlines, Citi Business News understands, had to delay while others who subsequently took off did so without access to any update from the Met Agency.
Explaining the issue to Citi Business News, the Officer in Charge of the Airport Division of the Ghana Meteorological Agency, Joe Tetteh Portuphy, said “Before the Ghana Civil Aviation was decoupled, the GCAA as an entity was supposed to pay us something out of the services. But once they were decoupled, fairness states that the Ghana Airport Company Limited pays its part while the GCAA also pays its part, but the GACL has refused to give us what is due us yet. “So management also thought you cannot hold on to that and still want us to pay for the pass; we don’t know where we are going to get the money from that is the reason for all the back and forth,” He stated.
GCAA intervenes for a temporary access Joe Tetteh Portuphy also stated that the intervention by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority over the weekend culminated in their resumption of work on Sunday, “The Managing Director of the GCAA, called that they’ve made a temporary pass for us so that is what we have been using yesterday (Sunday) and today (Monday),” Joe Tetteh Portuphy said.
He added, “We want this issue to be resolved as quickly as possible because Kotoka is an international airport and this does not augur well for our image so management I hope is meeting today to see the way forward.” Meanwhile the Ghana Airport Company Limited is yet to comment on the matter.
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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
