Kotoka International Airport officially renamed Accra International Airport

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Makay
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Accra International Airport

The Transport Ministry has officially announced that Kotoka International Airport officially renamed Accra International Airport.

The Ministry assured the public that operations, safety, and international travel would not be affected. Adding that the renaming will, however, involve updating official documents, signage, digital platforms, aviation publications, and communications.

The government has also called on the public, stakeholders, and international partners to cooperate for a smooth transition and thanked all for their support.

On Monday, February 23, 2026, in a press statement, the Transport Ministry stated, “The ministry hereby informs the general public that the Government of Ghana has officially reverted the name of Kotoka International Airport to its original name, Accra International Airport.

“The facility was originally known as Accra International Airport before its redesignation. The government has considered it appropriate to restore the airport to its former and internationally recognised name”, it said.

The statement further added, “This change will not affect airport operations, safety standards, or international travel arrangements. Notably, within the records of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the airport code has remained ‘ACC.’”

“The transition will involve updating official documents, airport signage, digital platforms, aviation publications, and other communication materials”.

Meanwhile, Joseph Bukari Nikpe, the Minister of Transport, has defended the government’s decision to rename the Kotoka International Airport.

The Transport Minister highlighted that the Mahama government’s decision is not politically motivated, arguing that renaming the airport is of significant importance to the Ghanaian people.

He explained that the government decision to just restore the airport’s original name, Accra International Airport, given by Ghana’s first presiednt Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

However, Renowned legal scholar and governance advocate, Prof Stephen Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has said renaming Kotoka International Airport is costly and unwarranted.

He argued that the Airport’s name is firmly embedded in global aviation systems, international treaties, maps, branding, and digital platforms, which would make any attempt to change it a costly and complex exercise.

According to Kwaku Azar, the names that have endured for more than six decades have survived not one political moment, but military rule, constitutional change, democratic transition, and generational turnover.

He added that each generation has the right to question history, but no generation has the right to treat every inherited symbol as if it were freshly imposed.

In a write-up shared on Facebook, Kwaku Azar stated, “Renaming KIA now would incur significant administrative, financial, and symbolic costs without improving operational efficiency, safety, or economic growth”.

“Kotoka International Airport is already recognised globally. Stability and predictability are assets in aviation. Changing its name now risks confusion and unnecessary costs, with no measurable benefit to the country,” Prof Asare stated.

Kwaku Azar further added that “names are not endorsements. They are anchors of memory. KIA does not ask travellers to celebrate coups. It reminds us, silently and persistently, of a turbulent chapter in our national journey: post-independence authoritarianism, military intervention, Cold War pressures, internal dissent, and the long, painful road to constitutional democracy. Erasing the name does not heal that history. It merely hides it. A mature nation does not erase uncomfortable chapters; it teaches them”.

He further stressed that the renaming of Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to Accra International Airport risks erasing important lessons from Ghana’s history, explaining that the 1969 renaming of KIA was not meant to glorify the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah.

See the statement below: