Bawumia Says Airline Passengers Won’t Fill Landing Cards From March 31

The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has announced the filling of arrival cards, also known as landing cards by airline passengers travelling to Ghana will soon be a thing of the past.

This is because, he said, from March 31, 2023, airline travellers to Ghana won’t be required to fill the landing card.

A Landing card is a legal document submitted to immigration officials upon arriving in a country.

It’s a form which must be completed by passengers and used by immigration authorities to obtain certain information about an incoming passenger, which is not provided by the passenger’s passport. 

He noted that information on landing cards can be obtained electronically.

According to the veep, removal of that process is one of Ghana’s ways of improving the competitiveness of the Kotoka International Airport  (KIA). 

“In addition, the processes that passengers go through at KIA are also going to be streamlined to drastically reduce the time spent by passengers and avoid duplication.”

Also, he said the Ministry of Interior and the Ghana Immigration Service have been directed to operationalise the E-Gates at the KIA this year. 

These were brought up during a stakeholder engagement with the Minister for Public Enterprises, Minister for Transport and his deputy, the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), Ghana Immigration Service, National Security and Ministry of Interior, Dr Bawumia said in a statement.

Below Is The Full Statement:

Dear friends,

I held a productive meeting on improving the competitiveness of Kotoka International Airport  (KIA) with key stakeholders, including the Minister for Public Enterprises, Minister for Transport and his deputy, the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), Ghana Immigration Service, National Security and Ministry of Interior.

It was decided, inter alia, that airline passengers traveling to Ghana will, from 31st March 2023, no longer be required to fill out landing cards. This is because the same information can be obtained electronically.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Interior and the Ghana Immigration Service have been directed to ensure that E-Gates will be operational at KIA this year for use by passengers using their Passports or Ghanacards.

In addition, the processes that passengers go through at KIA are also going to be streamlined to drastically reduce the time spent by passengers and avoid duplication. The new process flow is expected to be operational by 31st March, 2023.

God bless our homeland Ghana.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini