Passengers travelling through Terminal 2 at Kotoka International Airport will soon experience faster and more convenient security screening as Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) moves to install advanced 3D analogue baggage scanners, Managing Director Yvonne Nana Afriyie Opare has announced.

Speaking at the 5th Aviation Ghana Breakfast Meeting in Accra, she said the new technology will eliminate the need for passengers to remove items such as liquids from their carry-on luggage during screening

GACL is also pushing for the removal of the requirement for passengers to take off their shoes at security checkpoints as part of broader efforts to modernise passenger processing.

“We are bringing in 3D analogue scanners for baggage screening so passengers don’t have to take out things like liquids. We have also asked that the requirement for passengers to take off their shoes be repealed. We are in 2026, and we need to enhance the passenger experience,” she said.

The improvements form part of infrastructure investments expected to be supported by the newly Parliament- approved Airport Infrastructure Development Charge (AIDC), expected to come into effect from April 1.

Mrs. Opare emphasised that the objective of the charge is not only to raise revenue but to directly improve airport infrastructure and passenger comfort.

“Airlines and passengers are our priority. We will do everything we have to do to make sure that Ghana has the experience so that even if we are charging these taxes, the experience and the facility will make up for it,” she stated.

She expressed confidence that public acceptance of the AIDC would improve if citizens see visible improvements in airport facilities funded through the initiative.

“I believe that if we see what the money is going towards, if Ghanaians see that this charge is funding these facilities, I think it will go easier with our citizenry,” she added.

Ghana’s ambitious US$800 million airport infrastructure modernisation programme
Ghana is rolling out an ambitious US$800 million airport infrastructure modernisation programme aimed at positioning the country as West Africa’s premier aviation hub, with funding anchored on a new passenger-based levy approved under the 2026 national budget.

The initiative forms part of President John Dramani Mahama’s broader economic reset agenda, which prioritises transport connectivity and logistics efficiency as catalysts for trade, tourism, and investment growth.

At the centre of the programme is the newly introduced Airport Infrastructure Development Charge (AIDC), which will be applied to passenger tickets over a defined ten-year period. The levy is expected to mobilise approximately US$800 million to finance critical aviation infrastructure projects across the country.

Under the approved framework, international passengers will pay US$50 per trip, while travellers within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will pay US$15, with additional charge of US$30 for other African routes.

The funding model is designed to correct longstanding structural weaknesses in Ghana’s airport financing system, which previously relied heavily on cross-subsidisation from the profitable Kotoka International Airport to sustain regional facilities.