John Dramani Mahama shared a light-hearted moment at the Accra International Airport on Tuesday when his speech was briefly interrupted by the loud take-off of an aircraft during his address to officials following his return from the United Kingdom and Belarus.

The President paused mid-speech as the noise from the departing plane made it difficult to continue, waiting for the aircraft to clear the airspace before resuming his remarks.

On noticing that the aircraft belonged to a South African carrier, Mr Mahama made a jovial remark, saying, “That is an occupational hazard at the airport, and incidentally, it is a South African Airways,” a comment that drew laughter from his officials and briefly lightened the atmosphere before he continued his address.

The remark comes at a time when discussions around xenophobia in South Africa have drawn continental attention, including recent evacuations of Ghanaian nationals from affected areas.

The President subsequently continued his speech, outlining key outcomes from his diplomatic visits and engaging officials in a more formal briefing after the brief interruption.