According to GCAA, the decision came after Delta Airlines failed to investigate and address technical issues regarding the aircraft in question, which left several Accra-bound passengers, including Ghanaians, stranded at the JFK airport on July 24, 2022.
GCAA, in a letter dated August 19, 2022, and addressed to the "Accountable Manager" at Delta Airlines, said, "following the events of August 13 2022, when your aircraft with registration N195DN was forced to return to the gate due to a technical problem, a team of Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) inspectors were tasked to conduct an investigation on the circumstances surrounding this occurrence."
The letter continued; "The investigation revealed that:
1. The crew reported a fuel imbalance issue with the left main tank.
2. The inbound crew experienced this same issue on the flight leg to Accra, i.e., on July 31, 2022.
3. This was the same aircraft that had to return to JKF on July 25, 2022, a few hours after take-off from JFK, and which was widely reported on in various media outlets.
"It was expected that after such a negative reportage, Delta Air Lines would have thoroughly investigated the issue to arrive at the root cause of the failure before dispatching the aircraft on flights. Rather, the aircraft was flown within the United States a number of times and then dispatched again to Accra, only for the problem to reoccur.
"The Authority finds this unacceptable. Therefore, with immediate effect, Delta Air Lines is being advised not to dispatch the B767-332 with registration number N195DN for flights to Accra.”
"As your ageing 0767 fleets are of much concern to Ghanaian travellers, Delta Air Lines must put in place a plan to change the type of aircraft on the JFK-ACC-JFK route as soon as practicable. Kindly communicate this date to the undersigned in your response. Please be advised accordingly," the letter signed by Charles Kraikue, Director-General, GCAA, concluded.
Some passengers recently petitioned the Aviation Consumer Protection Office of the US Department of Transportation over the conduct of Delta Air Lines Incorporated.
According to them, their flight from the US on July 24, 2022, was inexplicably delayed.
The flight was then rescheduled, cancelled and rescheduled without sleep arrangements for passengers.
The complainants contend that this inconvenience was on the "flimsy ground that one of its pilots had not reported for work."
Delta Airlines