Charles Kraikue has been appointed to act as the Director-General of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) by president Akufo-Addo.

He takes over the responsibilities of running the Authority from Simon Allotey who will be retiring from the Authority on July 31, 2020.

Mr Kraikue brings to the role extensive experience, having served as the Deputy Director General (Technical) for the past two years.

In this role, he led the transformation of GCAA’s air traffic management systems and enhanced safety within the Accra Flight Information Region (FIR).

This included the replacement of all ageing communications, Navigation and Surveillance facilities within the FIR which had been in service for two decades.

He also served previously as Electrical Manager and as Director, Air traffic Safety Engineering of the Authority between 2007- 2018.

Simon Allotey retires

Prior to his appointment as Director-General of GCAA in 2015, Mr Allotey, was Ghana’s Representative on the ICAO Council from 2009 to 2010 and served as a member on ICAO’s Air Navigation Commission (ANC), from 2011 to 2015.

Mr Allotey who is a long-standing fellow of the Ghana Institute of Engineers (GhIE) also served variously as Deputy Director of Engineering, Director of Engineering, Deputy DirectorGeneral (Technical) and as Acting.

Director- General of GCAA from1996 to 2007.

Following the decoupling of airport operations from aviation regulation and air navigation services provision, Mr Allotey maintained concurrent oversight of the newly created Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) from January to September 2007, until a substantive managing director was appointed for GACL.

Under his leadership, the country's aviation industry has recorded phenomenal growth, with a thriving domestic sector and over 35 international airlines serving Ghana.

The country also attained an Effective Implementation (EI) score of 89.89%, the highest by an African country at the time, after ICAO concluded its safety audit in April.

In recognition of Ghana’s progress in resolving aviation security and safety
oversight deficiencies, and the country’s commitment to the Effective Implementation (EI) of its Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS), ICAO conferred its prestigious Council President Certificates in Aviation Safety and Security on Ghana at its 40th Triennial Assembly in Montreal, Canada.

Owing to his in-depth knowledge and experience in the aviation industry, he was nominated to chair several international high profile meetings including the Technical Commission, ICAO 40th Triennial Assembly in Montreal, Canada, 2019; the Safety Committee at the 13th ICAO Air Navigation Conference, Montreal Canada, 2018; ICAO’s Regional Aviation Safety Group for Africa(RASG-AFI), December 2015 -2018 etc.