Whew: Global Ghana Airlines Confirms They’re Not A Scam

In September 2017 I first wrote about Global Ghana Airlines, a new startup airline that intended to operate nonstop flights between Chicago and Accra. At the time the airline announced that they’d begin operating flights within weeks.

There was only one slight problem. The airline didn’t actually exist. That’s to say that they didn’t have a plane, and they didn’t have any sort of approval from US or Ghanian authorities (and as Baltia can attest to, that can take 30+ years to get).

In fact, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority accused Global Ghana Airlines of misleading consumers, and advised the public not to conduct business with the company.

So there’s an interesting update on that front. This week Global Ghana Airlines issued a press release “clarifying” their situation, and that they are in fact legitimate:

Recently we were made aware of some public concern over written allegations from the Director General of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Simon Allotey, stating that Global Ghana Airlines is not certified by the GCAA to conduct aviation business to and from Ghana. It is true that Global Ghana Airlines is not certified by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority because Global Ghana Airlines is a U.S. based airline and will be flying under a Category 1 certification which will supersede the Category 2 rating.

Global Ghana Airlines will be operating with our U.S. partners to serve you beginning on March 20, 2019! Tickets are available NOW at www.flyGGA.com; we hope to see you on board!

So, um, what?

  • They think it’s easier to get US certification than it is to get Ghanian certification? (I’m sure getting certified in Ghana is difficult, but getting certified in the US is also really difficult.)
  • They will be operating the flight between Chicago and Accra with their “U.S. partners.” Say what?

My favorite part is that they say that they’re launching flights as of March 20, 2019, and encourage people to book on their website. But online they’re selling tickets for travel effective immediately.

Seems perfectly legitimate to me!

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Raymond Guest

Ha ha they just joined YouTube on 4/17/2019 with a video that says the first flight is October 31, 2018 https://youtu.be/LR_CzH1Nmmo

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E. C. Guest

Many of your questions are answered in this 4/19/19 interview with Johnnie O’Toole. Apparently he’s been upsetting a lot of people in the Ghanaian community in Chicago. He said he’s not a liar but there are some questionable things mentioned in this heated interview. Johnnie said the first flight was in September 2018. The GGA Facebook page says inaugural fight March 20, 2019. How can it be an inaugural flight if the first flight supposedly took place in September 2018? Sounds like neither actually happened! He also gives a weak excuse about “low season” as a reason for not operating flights now but gave a similar excuse when it was cold because de-icing the plane would cost too much as a start-up company. It’s f*ckn Chicago! He’ll never fly with those kinds of excuses (in addition to all the other non-weather related excuses). Not sure how he expects anyone to take the airline seriously at this point...if they ever did before. I figured sharing this interview will help others avoid wasting time dealing with what so many others have dealt with already from a business perspective. These types of negative reviews before even getting into the air is not a good sign of what’s to come...if it ever does. You be the judge! Skip the video to 55:15 to start Johnnie’s portion of the interview. After the introduction and situation is set (spoken in Twi, I think) the meat of the conversation (mostly in English) begins roughly at 1:00:00. The interview is almost 2 hours long but is great for understanding what’s going on with GGA and the character of the CEO. The sound quality isn’t the best. Even though another language is spoken at moments, if your primary language is English there is enough English spoken to understand the ridiculous nature of this “airline” situation. https://www.facebook.com/WGHC98.3FM/videos/886021558407689?sfns=moreoptionsios

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Eugene Member

I know this is very late, but I hope someone sees this fairly in-depth research. So looking at the records and comparing everything in the 'About' page of the airline: 1) The is no Aerospace Institute in Chicago. He claimed to have attended such place, but no records of the 'institute' being an entity exist nor are there any leads online. 2) ISO Aeronautics Training Institute was dissolved back in 2002, involuntarily. Somehow he "continues" to operate and train pilots. I quote " Today, Mr. O’Toole continues to operate his flight school as a pilot instructor where he has certified more than 250 pilots" ???? 3) Sister City International Airlines is founded and operated by the CEO of Global Ghana Airlines. He is listed as the agent of that company too 4) "Mr. O’Toole also works as an Aviation Consultant for the Chicago Public School system". Uhm, what? Why would they need an aviation consultant for a public school system? No mentions from the Chicago Public School system online. Maybe I'll reach out for a comment The website is a goldmine of information. Check out the *professional* photo of the CEO on the about page too

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Nikhil Guest

Gotta love that headline

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brizone Diamond

@Addison: It seems like Green Africa is ahead of the pack, since they've already copyrighted their website 2019 in December (or earlier?) 2018!!

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