Airline passengers entitled to compensation for inconveniences — GCAA
Passengers of airlines are now entitled to demand compensation for any inconveniences caused them under the Ghana Civil Aviation (Amendment) Act 2016, Act 906.
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With the passage of the amendment, passengers will now be able to demand compensation for losses arising from delay or cancellation of flights, and for damage to or destruction of luggage or cargo.
The Director of Legal and International Relations of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Mrs Joyce Thompson, made this known at a stakeholder’s conference in Accra last Thursday.
The meeting organised by the GCAA was intended for stakeholders in the aviation industry to discuss the Ghana Civil Aviation (Amendment) Act, 2016 (Act 906).
Promoting passengers’ rights
The act, which was passed by Parliament and assented to by the President in February this year, is an amendment of sections of the existing Ghana Civil Aviation Act, 2004, (Act 678).
Under the new law, a number of conventions of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) were ratified.
According to Mrs Thompson, under the Amendment Act, passengers were assured of compensations for the inconveniences they went through when they travelled by air.
The new legislation sought to protect the right and safety of passengers, as well as enhance security, she said, adding that the authority’s functions had also been amended, giving it more powers.
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Unauthorised structures
While the law criminalises threats to aviation security, Mrs Thompson indicated that it had empowered the GCAA to prosecute unruly passengers and also demolish unauthorised structures impeding the safety of air navigation at the cost of the owners of the structures.
She said any structure which would be built without prior approval from the GCAA and obstruct the safety of communication, navigation and surveillance equipment of the GCAA would have to be demolished.
To enhance its revenue as an autonomous body, she said the law empowered the authority to also charge a fee for its services, for which reason it had introduced the safety charges.
Safety charges
She said from August this year, the GCAA would impose safety charges on all international flight fares, explaining that the charges were $10 per passenger and $20 per tonne on cargo.
According to Mrs Thompson, the charges were also to enable the authority to train quality staff to ensure that flights were airworthy and safe.
The Director General of the GCAA, Mr Simon Allotey, in his remarks, said the industry was about safety and it was the mandate of the authority to ensure that safety was achieved.
Therefore, he said, the authority would not compromise on safety for any reason and so would continue to put in place adequate and standardised measures to guarantee the safety of all passengers.
Concerning domestic air fares, he said the authority was working with other stakeholders to ensure that it was reduced to enhance socio-economic activities in the country.