The first ITA Airways flight from Rome Fiumicino arrived yesterday at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana. The aircraft, an Airbus A321neo, was welcomed with a water arch salute.
The inauguralITAAirwaysflightfrom AccraAirporttoRomeFiumicinodepartedat11:45p.m.localtime.
To celebrate the launch of this new intercontinental route, the Company’s first destination in sub-Saharan Africa, an increasingly strategic market, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the arrival gate C8 in Terminal 3 of Accra Airport. The ceremony was attended by Yvonne Nana Afriyie Opare, Managing Director forGhanaAirportsCompanyLimited,Daniela d'Orlandi,Ambassadorof ItalytoGhanaand Togo, Merene Benyah, Ambassador of Ghana to Italy, Rev Stephen Wilfred Arthur, Director, Business Development and Economic Regulations of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Pierfrancesco Carino,VicePresident InternationalSales ITA Airways,and BenedettoMencaroni,RegionalManagerfor Asia, Middle East, and Africa ITA Airways.
“We areproudtoinauguratethenewdirectflightbetweenAccraandRome,” saidEmilianaLimosani,Chief Commercial Officer of ITA Airways and CEO of Volare. “The launch of this new flight, the only direct connectionbetweenGhanaandItaly,representsasignificantstepforwardfortheCompany:itisthefirstnew flight to the African continent, a market with a great potential, of the current Summer season and will enable ITAAirwaysnotonlytogainastrategicentryforpoint-to-pointtrafficbutalsotoreachotherdestinationswithin both Countries, thereby combining leisure and business travel.”
Reacting to the news, Yvonne Nana Afriyie Opare, Managing Director of Ghana Airports Company Limited on behalf of the Board, Management and Staff, expressed excitement about the new airline whose entry addstothediverseportfolioofairlinesarrivinganddepartingfromKotokaInternationalAirport. “Welook forwardtoITAAirways’inauguralflightonJune6,2024,justintimeforthesummerpeaktravelseason’’,she said.ShefurtherassuredofGACL’sreadinesstofacilitateoperationsandprocessesinworkingcollaboratively with all agencies at the airport together with ITA Airways to give passengers a smooth travel experience through Kotoka International Airport.
Daniela d'Orlandi, AmbassadorofItalytoGhana,welcomed:“ThestartofITAAirways’directconnections betweenAccraandRomewillfurtherstrengthenthealreadyexcellentcollaborativerelationshipbetweenItaly and Ghana in all areas and will bring our peoples even closer”.
Merene Benyah, Ambassador of Ghana to Italy said: “This renewed direct flight service by ITA Airways is indeed a measure of the growing business and commercial interests between Ghana and Italy; and will no doubt enhance trade, investment, tourism, and cultural links between the two Countries. Ghana has often been described as the gateway to Africa due to its strategic geographic location, democratic credentials, conducivebusinessenvironment,healthyrespectfortheruleoflaw,andtheproverbialwarmhospitalityofits people. The decision of ITAAirways to re-commence services between the two Countries is a testament to this”.
The Accra–Romeroute,theonlydirectconnectionbetweenGhanaandItaly,isthefirststep fortheCompany in establishing a greater presence in West Africa, a key destination for both leisure and corporate traffic. Following the Accra route, a new flight from Rome Fiumicino to Dakar will be inaugurated in July.
The newrouteoperateswiththefollowingschedule:
· Accra to Rome with three weekly frequencies, increasing to four in July: departure from Kotoka International Airportisscheduledat11:45p.m.(localtime),witharrivalatRomeFiumicinoat7:35a.m. in the morning after departure from Ghana (local time).
· Rome to Accra with three weekly frequencies, increasing to four in July: departure from Rome Fiumicino is scheduled at 3:30 p.m. (local time) with arrival in Ghana at 7:15 p.m. (local time).
Flights to and from Accra will be operated with the new Airbus A321neo, a new-generation, technologically advanced aircraft. The A321neo is the largest aircraft in the Airbus A320neo family and offers exceptional range and performance. Efficient and quiet, the new A321neo boasts 20% lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per seat. It is the first narrow-body aircraft configured with three separate cabins: Business Class (12 seats), Premium Economy (12 seats), and Economy (141 seats, including 12 dedicated to Comfort Economy).Thecabininteriors,entirelydesignedbyWalterdeSilva,perfectlyembodytheeleganceandstyle typical of Italy.
Distinctive features of the A321neo include the Airspace Cabin with new colors and materials, the latest generation of seats, new ITA Airways customized interior lighting and XL overhead bins. Each seat is equipped withthelatestentertainmentsystem,featuring"on-demand"videoandaudio,17.3''(Business),
15.6'' (PremiumEconomy)and13.3''(Economy)lowreflectivityand4K resolution touchscreensfora simple, smooth and intuitive user experience.
With this new route, ITA Airways will operate 57 destinations in the current summer season, including 16 domestic, 26international,and15intercontinental.Additionally,duringthepeak ofthesummer,theairlinewill fly to 12 additional seasonal destinations, selected among the most popular Mediterranean tourist spots, including Greece, Spain, Croatia, and the Italian islands, accessible with direct flights from Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate.