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Ghana to fine airlines £2,640 per unvaccinated passenger

Carriers will also be slapped with charge for travellers without correct paperwork

Helen Coffey
Wednesday 15 December 2021 14:52 GMT
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Ghana has tightened border rules
Ghana has tightened border rules (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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Ghana has announced it will fine airlines $3,500 (£2,640) per unvaccinated passenger they attempt to bring into the country.

The same severity of fine will also be applied to carriers which transport travellers who have not filled out the official health declaration form prior to arrival at Kotoka International Airport.

International arrivals may be refused entry to the country if they do not meet the abovementioned requirements, while Ghanaians will be allowed in but must quarantine for 14 days, the state-owned Ghana Airport Company stated.

“The current increase in cases together with the detection of the omicron variant among international arrivals and the expected increase during the festive season calls for urgent actions to prevent a major surge in Covid-19 cases in Ghana,” the Ghana Health Service announced last week, alongside implementing the requirement for all passengers over the age of 18 to provide evidence of full vaccination against Covid-19.

The health body said that about 60 per cent of the total new cases recorded in the country originated from travellers arriving into the international airport during the last fortnight.

It comes as countries around the world impose new curbs to slow the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant.

France, for example, confirmed it is considering imposing tighter restrictions on travellers arriving from the UK.

“Regarding Britain, the current rule is to show a negative test less than 48 hours old in order to enter France,” French government spokesman, Gabriel Attal, told France Info radio on Tuesday.

“But we are always looking at means to tighten the framework, we are currently working on that and we should, I think, come to a conclusion in the coming days.”

The government has not indicated what extra rules British arrivals might face.

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