Ghana and Trinidad and Tobago sign air services deal at UN meeting in New York

Pinned summary · as of 07:06

Ghana and Trinidad and Tobago have concluded an air services agreement aimed at opening direct flights between the two countries. President John Dramani Mahama announced the deal on Facebook after talks in New York with the Trinidadian prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

What we know

• The two governments signed a bilateral air services agreement, reported by Rainbow Radio Online, Opemsuo 104.7 and Onua Online as a step towards direct air links and closer economic ties.
• The signing took place in New York during a meeting between Mr Mahama and Ms Persad-Bissessar held around the United Nations General Assembly.
• Mr Mahama, who broke the news on his Facebook page, said the agreement would improve air connections and open fresh avenues for cooperation: “This agreement strengthens air connectivity and creates new opportunities for cooperation between our countries.”
• The two leaders also spoke about the latest developments on the reparations agenda, and about trade and investment.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Onua Online said the agreement was signed on Tuesday, 22 September 2026. The other independent reports did not give a date for the signing.
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  The Vaultz News reported that Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Sean Sobers, the Trinidadian minister for foreign and CARICOM affairs, put their names to the document while the two leaders looked on. The other reports do not name any ministers.
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  Reports differ on which session of the UN General Assembly the leaders were attending: Opemsuo 104.7 and The Vaultz News called it the 81st, while Onua Online called it the 80th.
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  Opemsuo 104.7 and Onua Online said the agreement is expected to lead to direct flights, and Onua Online added tourism and trade ties linking the two regions. These are expectations rather than announced plans. The Vaultz News said neither government has named airlines, cities or a start date for services.
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  The Vaultz News reported that the agreement sets the legal framework under which airlines of either country can operate services between them, and that Trinidad and Tobago also signed a similar agreement with Panama. Its transport and civil aviation minister, Eli Zakour, was said to have welcomed both as part of a plan to strengthen the country's role as a Caribbean aviation hub. No other report carries these details.
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  The Vaultz News said travel from Accra to the Caribbean now requires connections through Europe or North America, that Ghana has no national carrier flying long-haul routes, and that Ghana was due to hold a reparations event on the margins of the assembly on 23 September. These points come from that report alone.

Why it matters for Ghana

At present, Ghanaians travelling to the Caribbean, and Caribbean visitors coming to Ghana, are said to route through other continents, so a legal basis for direct services could in time shorten journeys for tourists, traders and families with roots on both sides of the Atlantic. Airlines, tour operators and the Ghana Tourism Authority would be among those to watch, but nothing announced so far says when flights could start or who would fly them. The talks on reparations, an issue Ghana has pushed on the world stage, also keep that campaign in view.