By Dickson Omobola

Ghana has indicated plans to leverage Nigeria’s Aero Contractors Aircraft Maintenance Organisation, AMO, as it moves towards establishing a national carrier.

Director General of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, GCAA, Rev Stephen Arthur, disclosed this during a tour of the Aero Contractors maintenance facility located at the airline’s headquarters within the General Aviation Terminal, GAT, of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

Arthur, who linked the cost of aircraft maintenance to the cost of flight ticket, said ferrying aircraft out of the West African region to the United States or Europe increases the cost of maintenance, which are eventually passed on to passengers.

According to him, the Aero MRO could service commercial aircraft operating across West and Central Africa that are approved for maintenance at the facility.

He said: “Many of us out there have no idea how the cost of aircraft maintenance affects the overall cost of operation, which eventually translates to the cost of an air ticket. This is because it is not just the fuel that is used to fly, but the cost of maintaining, repairing and overhauling the aircraft.

“If such a facility is not readily available within a certain geographical precinct, it adds more to the cost of the airline’s operations and business. And which eventually will be translated to the paying passenger.

“But having a major MRO nearby reduces maintenance costs because airlines will not pay huge expenses for crew allowances, long-haul fuel, navigation charges and aircraft downtime. If the MRO is nearby, it also reduces the time required for maintenance, meaning more money is saved by the airline.

“As Ghana and other neighbouring states, especially in the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, region, I believe that it is a great blessing to have this facility being operated, owned and managed by Aero Contractors. It is really good news to celebrate and to promote.”

Confirming that Ghana is in the process of establishing a national carrier, he said: “I think that we should celebrate the existence of Aero MRO and encourage airlines to patronise it. Because it is in patronising it that they can also expand and offer more. And in our local parlance, we say that if you cannot beat them, you join them.

“So, Ghana will join our big brother in Nigeria, taking a very bold lead in using its services. It is not just something for Nigeria. It is not just for the sub-region but it is for the aviation industry as a whole that we have such a facility here in our neighbourhood. And so, it is a cause to celebrate, to patronise and to see expansion,”

Meanwhile, Managing Director/CEO of Aero Contractors Limited, Captain Ado Sanusi, said: “We operated helicopters and then later we started operating fixed wings and we became very dominant in oil and gas before venturing into the airline business. We are the first again to perform C-check on Boeing 737 Classic in West and Central Africa and since then, we have been operating our maintenance facility, providing services to airlines within West Africa and beyond.

“Now, we have approvals in a number of West African countries and beyond. Our intention is to get European Union Safety Agency, EASA, approval and US Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, approval for line maintenance and go to even base maintenance. We also have a desire to start flying back to Accra which we will do very soon.”