The Ghana Shippers’ Authority on 22nd February 2021 engaged KLM/Air France, an air cargo operator in Ghana as part of efforts to regularly interact with shipping service providers.
The meeting was to allow the GSA familiarize with the services of the airline and also inquire of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations.
The Head of Shipper Services and Trade Facilitation, Mrs Naa Densua said as part of the GSA’s mandate of ensuring for shippers in Ghana quick, safe and reliable delivery of import and export cargoes by all modes of transport at optimum cost, it was important that such engagements are more frequent to share ideas and information in order to serve the shipping community better.
The Commercial Manager of KLM Dutch Airlines, Mr Okpoti Mensah Sowah said Air France/KLM is one of the leading European Airlines operating in Ghana and has since been at the forefront of cargo carriage before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said his office has oversight operations over seven African countries including; Togo, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Ghana.
He mentioned that KLM/Air France undertook many structural adjustments during the pandemic and adopted some measures to cushion shippers during the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated that as part of its structural adjustments, the airline converted and reconfigured some of its air crafts into mini cargo flights as passenger freight dropped significantly due to travel restrictions imposed by various governments across the world. These interventions, he said enabled the airline meet the growing demands for exports, particularly fruits and vegetables.
Mr. Sowah commended shippers for making cargos available in time for flight planners to enable them meet the growing demand. He indicated, Ghana has predominantly been a market for fruits and vegetable export.
Both organizations were confident that the collaboration would foster solution-oriented policies tailored to provide the best services to Ghanaian shippers.
