The Managing Director of Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), Mr. John Dekyem Attafuah, has said that the company will carry out series of simulation exercises, involving about 1000 volunteers, to test the operational readiness of the new terminal 3 at Kotoka international Airport (KIA).
The GACL Boss reveals this at the just ended 12th Routes Africa Conference held in Accra, Ghana. He states that “daily operational trials are being done on all equipment installed in the terminal and in the coming weeks, GACL will conduct simulation exercises to test the operational readiness of the terminal prior to the commencement of full operations.”
Mr. Attafuah explains that the opening of the terminal 3 has become necessary because the KIA terminal 2 has reached elastic passenger capacity. “The terminal 3 is designed to handle 5 million passengers per annum. Terminal 2 was for 2.5 million passengers and we’ve already hit 2.7. The terminal 3 has 6 boarding bridges, 4 carousels, modern baggage handling systems, about 26 check-in desks, e-gates, space for shops, duty-free and food courts,” he enthuses.
According to Mr. Attafuah, GACL will be conducting two simulation exercises, on different dates, to enable contractors and airport authorities address any shortfalls that may arise. “We have two major simulations coming up and when successful, we will know whether we are ready to open the new terminal,” he adds.
The exercise will involve volunteers playing the role of arriving and departing passengers who will be facilitated through the terminal. The simulation exercises will be conducted with support from all agencies and stakeholders operating at the airport.