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According to KSM, the late Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwesi Kotoka does not deserve to be named after the airport hence should be changed.
The media personality believes that the name is changed to ‘Ghana International Airport’. He stated that although people might not agree with his opinion, he thinks it is a disgrace to name the airport after Lieutenant Kotoka.
In a tweet on January 1, 2023, KSM said he wished the name was changed.
“At the risk of angering many, my wish is to see the name of Kotoka removed from the airport. It's a disgrace to our history. Happy new year,” he tweeted.
It seems KSM is not the only person who has called for the change of name of the airport. Prophet Ajaguajah also called for the change of the name several months ago. According to him, the name Kotoka on the airport is cursed.
Kotoka was a member of the National Liberation Council which came to power through a military coup d'état on 24th February 1966. This was the overthrow of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of the republic.
The existing airport, Kotoka International Airport, was originally a military airport used by the British Royal Air Force during World War II in 1946.
The facility was handed over to civilian authorities after a successful pull-out by the military. In response to globalization and the growing demand for air travel at the time, a development project was launched to reconfigure the structure into a terminal building in 1956.
The completion of the project set the stage for Ghana Airways to use the airport as its base in 1958.
The airport was originally designed and commissioned to accommodate a maximum of five hundred thousand (500,000) passengers annually. In 1969, the Accra International Airport was renamed Kotoka International Airport in memory of the late Lt. General E.K. Kotoka.