The Parliament of Ghana is poised to debate a significant piece of legislation aimed at renaming the nation’s premier aviation hub. The proposed “Airport Bill” seeks to transition the facility’s title from Kotoka International Airport back to its original designation: Accra International Airport.
Disclosing the development during a leadership media briefing on Tuesday, 3 February 2026, the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, explained that the move is primarily intended to honour the indigenous residents and landowners of Accra. He argued that the restoration of the name is a necessary gesture of recognition for those whose ancestral lands were requisitioned for the airport’s construction.
“It is a matter of fundamental fairness to the people of Accra,” Mr Ayariga remarked. “They surrendered their land for the benefit of the nation; the facility was initially named after their city, only for that identity to be supplanted. The original landowners deserve this acknowledgement.”
The airport was first commissioned as Accra International Airport in 1958 under the administration of Dr Kwame Nkrumah. However, following the volatile political shifts of the late 1960s, the name was changed in 1969 to honour Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka. General Kotoka, a prominent member of the National Liberation Council (NLC), was killed in the vicinity of the airport during a failed coup attempt in April 1967.
Mr Ayariga was careful to clarify that the bill is not a slight against the late General’s legacy. “This proposal is not an indictment of his personality,” the Majority Leader stated. “The core issue is that when a name reflecting the land’s heritage is removed and replaced, it creates a precedent for perpetual change. We seek to address what is, essentially, a historical oversight.”
The Minister for Transport is expected to formally present the bill to the House during the current eight-week parliamentary session. If successful, the change would see the airport return to the name it held at the dawn of Ghana’s independence.
The debate arrives at a time when the facility is experiencing unprecedented growth; Kotoka International Airport recorded a milestone 3.1 million passengers in 2023, maintaining its status as the country’s sole international gateway.
While the government frames the bill as an act of social justice for local landowners, the naming of the airport has remained a point of contention for decades. Critics have frequently argued that a facility established during the Nkrumah era should not bear the name of a figure instrumental in the 1966 coup that toppled him.
Parliamentary observers expect a spirited debate as the bill progresses through the various stages of legislative approval.
