Ghana airport to fine airlines $3,500 for each unvaccinated passenger they bring into the country

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Ghana airport to fine airlines $3,500 for each unvaccinated passenger they bring into the country | Secret Flying

Airlines that bring unvaccinated persons into Ghana will be fined.

 

The operator of Ghana’s main international airport has announced it will fine airlines $3,500 for every passenger they fly in who is not vaccinated against Covid-19 or who tests positive for the coronavirus upon arrival in Accra.

 

The measures set by Kotoka International Airport are some of the strictest on the continent of Africa, as vaccine uptake has been challenged by a lack of supply and logistical issues even as the new Omicron variant spreads at a record rate.

 

According to Reuters, Ghana, one of West Africa’s largest economies that runs on exports of cocoa, gold and oil, has so far vaccinated slightly more than 5% of its population of 30 million.

 

The airport explained the new policy in a statement, warning airlines that passengers must fill a health form prior to arriving in Ghana or the carrier will be slapped with the fine.

 

“Airlines that bring passengers to Kotoka International Airport who are not fully vaccinated shall be surcharged $3,500 per passenger,” a section of the statement said.

 

“All passengers are required to present evidence of having filled Ghana’s Health Declaration Form (HDF) at www.ghs-hdf.org at the point of embarkation.”

 

The rule came into effect on Tuesday December 14.

 

Last week, the Ghanaian health service said that in the last two weeks Covid-19 cases recorded at Kotoka airport accounted for about 60% of total infections in the country.