DELTA LAUNCHES NON-STOP FLIGHT TO ATLANTA (SPREAD, JUNE 4, 2010)

Delta Airlines has launched its first non-stop service between Accra and Atlanta in the United States of America.
The flight will operate four times a week using a 243-seater Airbus A330-200 aircraft.
The new Delta Airlines flight departs Kotoka International Airport in Accra at 1a.m on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and arrive in Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta at 8:45am.
At the launch, the Senior Vice-President of Delta Airlines in charge of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mr Perry Cantarutti, said the airline was delighted to add a second non-stop service as the leading United States airline in Ghana.
He said the gesture would boost the travel and tourism sector between the two nations and to increase travel choice for Ghanaians.
Mr Cantarutti said the airbus was equipped with ample cargo space to provide significant opportunities for freight forwarders and cargo shippers in Ghana.
He said the airline’s customers were looking forward to getting more travel options with the launch of the Accra-Atlanta service.
Delta Airlines started operating in Ghana in 2006 and serves more than 160 million passengers each year worldwide. With its unsurpassed global network, Delta and Delta connection carriers offer service to 355 destinations in 65 countries on six continents.
Delta employs more than 70,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of nearly 800 aircraft.
The Deputy Minister of Transport, Mrs Dzifa Attivor said the decision of Delta to operate in Ghana was an indication of the increased confidence of international civil aviation in the country.
She said its new service was also a confirmation of the congenial business atmosphere that was currently prevailing in the country, which, she noted, was as the result of the pragmatic economic policies implemented by the government.
"The aviation industry in Ghana has enjoyed steady, if not phenomenal, growth in recent years as the result of the liberalisation of Aviation industry through implementation of the Open Skies policy in Ghana and in particular with the United States".
Mrs Attivor noted that the Kotoka International Airport and some of the country's local airports would continue to undergo systematic facelift through infrastructure rehabilitation and the installation of new communication navigation and surveillance equipment to meet international standards.
She also called on Delta airline to support the development of the aviation industry in the country.