Impactful journalism: Ghana Business News story causes change in Kotoka International Airport arrival process

On February 29 this year, we carried a story about arrival procedures at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, that highlighted the lengthy process travellers had to endure with the undefined number of airport officials demanding to see their passports.

More specifically, the story raised issues about health officials demanding to see the vaccination cards of Ghanaians who already live in the country but were only returning after short trips abroad.

These travellers are only required to show their vaccination cards if they have been to a known ‘yellow fever’ endemic country, otherwise, they are not required to show their cards.

The publication of the story has led to change in arrival procedures at the airport. Ghana passport holders do not need to show their vaccination cards.

Every regular traveller who uses the Kotoka International Airport in Accra would be familiar with how many airport officials would ask to see their passport as they pass through check-in, security and on their way to the boarding gates.

Then on your arrival, as a Ghana passport holder resident in the country, travellers would meet airport health officials demanding and sometimes insisting to see their passport and then proceed to ask to see their vaccination or yellow fever card also known as ‘yellow card’.

But the Ghana Airports Company Limited clarified that airport health officials are not required to demand to see the ‘yellow card’ of Ghana passport holders.

In search of clarification, I sent three questions on the Facebook page of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority the regulator of the country’s airports and the Ghana Airports Company Limited, the manager of the airports, and Ghana Airports responded.

The following were the questions:

1. Which designated employees at the airport can demand to see the passport of travellers?
2. What is the rationale for airport health officials demanding to see the inoculation cards (yellow cards) of residents in Ghana who are returning home and have not been to a yellow fever infested area?
3. How do you get some of the officials working at the airport to stop demanding money from travellers?

The Ghana Airport Company Limited provided the following answers:

1. At the airport, several agencies are legally mandated to perform specific functions. Officials from these agencies require passengers to present their passports to fulfill their duties. The agencies include Ghana Immigration Service, Aviation Security, Customs, National Investigations Bureau, Narcotics Control Commission (NaCOC), and the Airlines.

2. Health officials are not required to examine yellow fever cards of Ghanaian passport holders upon arrival in Ghana. Nonetheless, Ghanaians holding passports from countries other than Ghana will need to present their passports for inspection by health officials at KIA.

3. We currently run announcements in the terminal about payment of money by passengers. Passengers are expected to demand a receipt for every payment made. If it is a valid transaction, the staff shouldn’t have a problem issuing the receipt. The passenger has every right to refuse and report to the customer service desk for prompt action.

Additionally, providing any form of evidence will also help to deal with culprits.

Following the publication of the story, there has been noticeable change in arrival procedures at the airport, with specific regard to health officials demanding to see the passport of travellers and subsequently demanding to see their inoculation or vaccination cards – particularly Ghana passport holders.

While that didn’t happen immediately, change has happened. In recent times, health officials only ask to see the passport for confirmation that it is a Ghana passport, once it is a Ghana passport, they wave the traveller on, they do no ask to see the vaccination card anymore.

This is one of the impacts of journalism, impacting the society and triggering change.

By Emmanuel K Dogbevi
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The post Impactful journalism: Ghana Business News story causes change in Kotoka International Airport arrival process appeared first on Ghana Business News.

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