LCC start-up Fastjet targets under-served markets in West Africa, starting with Ghana

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou's latest venture, start-up African LCC Fastjet.com, is preparing to launch operations later this year from a base in West Africa, mostly likely Accra in Ghana. The new carrier aims to introduce affordable air travel for Africans to facilitate inter-regional tourism and business travel. Accra Kotoka Airport, the only hub in the diverse and fast-growing Ghanaian market, is expected to handle over 10,000 passengers per day by 2030, making it one of the six largest airports in Africa.

Sir Stelios' easyGroup management team has been working on a feasibility study that is expected to recommend Fastjet.com connect six West African countries to Accra, with the possibility of expanding to 15 countries at a later date. According to reports in The Financial Times, Fastjet.com is considering leasing 15 aircraft and will launch operations within the new few months.

If successful in Ghana, Fastjet.com would like to expand across Africa and become the first pan-African carrier. Attempts by LCC Fly540, which now operates in three East African countries and plans to work with Fastjet.com in West Africa, to become pan-African have until now been stalled by external obstacles.