President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has often used chartered flights on official trips whenever the trip is especially outside of the continent.
Government, through the Ministry of Defense, explained last year that the President was acting on expert advice relative to the capacity of the current Presidential jet.
It wasn’t until last Friday, June 24, 2022, that the Presidency confirmed for the first time that the President had flown on a private jet on a trip from Brussels to Kigali for the Commonwealth Heads of State summit.
One politician who has been seized with the chartered flights of the President, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has since May 2021, published details of Akufo-Addo’s trips aboard jets he described as ‘ultra-luxury’ and ‘top-of-the-range’ jets.
The North Tongu MP, on Saturday (June 25) published what he said were details of the president’s luxury jet trips over the last 13 months. He alleged that the trips had cost the taxpayer around GH¢34million.
Below are the details of the 13 trips with details on the type of aircraft and operator involved, the route, the travel date and the cost involved – usually quoted in dollars or euros.
I provide highlights of 13-months of unimpeachable, unchallengeable and irreproachable tracking publications below:
Publication: 27th May, 2021
Aircraft: ACJ320Neo operated by Aviation Acropolis
Destination: Akufo-Addo’s trip from Accra-Paris-Johannesburg-Accra
Travel Date: 16th to 25th May, 2021
Cost: £345,000
Publication: 31st August, 2021
Aircraft: Boeing 737- 900ER BBJ3 (LX-DIO) operated by Global Jet Luxembourg
Destination: Akufo-Addo’s trip to UK and Germany
Travel Date: 27th July, 2021
Cost: $574,000
Publication: 21st September, 2021
Aircraft: Boeing 737- 900ER BBJ3 (LX-DIO) operated by Global Jet Luxembourg
Destination: Akufo-Addo’s trip from Accra via The Azores-Houston-New York-Accra
Travel Date: 17th September, 2021
Cost: $616,000
Publication: 12th October, 2021
Aircraft: Boeing 737- 900ER BBJ3 (LX-DIO) operated by Global Jet Luxembourg
Destination: Akufo-Addo’s trip from Accra- Belgrade-Accra
Travel Date: 10th October, 2021
Cost: $588,000
Publication: 17th November, 2021
Aircraft: Boeing 737- 900ER BBJ3 (LX-DIO) operated by Global Jet Luxembourg
Destination: Akufo-Addo’s trip to France
Travel Date: 13th November, 2021
Cost: $314,000
Publication: 11th February, 2022
Aircraft: Boeing 737- 900ER BBJ3 (LX-DIO) operated by Global Jet Luxembourg
Destination: Akufo-Addo’s trip from Ghana- France- Guyana- Germany- France- Belgium- UK- Ghana
Travel Date: 10th to 20th February, 2022
Cost: $776,000
Publication: 3rd April 2022 (“meet-me-there” edition)
Aircraft: Boeing 737- 900ER BBJ3 (LX-DIO) operated by Global Jet Luxembourg
Destination: Akufo-Addo’s trip from Washington- North Carolina-London
Date: 1st April, 2022
Cost: $465,000
Publication: 25th June 2022
Flight: ACJ319 (D-Alex) operated by K5-Aviation
Destination: Akufo-Addo’s trip from Belgium-Rwanda
Date: 22nd June, 2022
Cost: €480,000
Source: www.ghanaweb.com