Prempeh I International Airport · IATA KMS · ICAO DGSI · Ashanti Region · Checked October 2026
Accra–Kumasi is Ghana's busiest domestic air route: dozens of flights a week, forty-five minutes in the air instead of five hours or more on one of the country's most dangerous roads. In 2024 the airport of the Asante capital got a gleaming €66 million terminal with boarding bridges, a royal new name, Prempeh I International Airport, and its first flight from London. Two years on, the terminal is busy, the runway extension is still unfinished, and the international flights have not become a regular service. Here is what flies, and what to expect.
Key facts
This is the shuttle route of Ghana. Both airlines fly from early morning to evening, every day, and seats on the business-hour flights sell out first.
| Airline | Pattern | How often | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Africa World Airlines | Departures spread from early morning to evening in both directions | Many flights daily | Embraer regional jets |
| Passion Air | Morning, midday and evening rotations | Several flights daily | Dash 8 Q400 |
Read this before booking
With so many flights, the exact times change from season to season. Always check your date on flyafricaworld.com or flypassionair.com. Some booking sites sell AWA flights under partner codes such as Q4 (Euroairlines); it is the same aircraft. There are no scheduled direct flights from Kumasi to Tamale, Takoradi, Wa or Sunyani: everything goes via Accra.
Africa World Airlines guide Passion Air guide Kumasi destination page
The weather in Kumasi at this moment, the time in Ghana, and a converter between cedis and the main currencies.
The weather matters here
Kumasi sits in the forest belt, about 250 to 300 metres above sea level. It has two rainy seasons, roughly March to July and September to November, with heavy afternoon thunderstorms that can delay flights. From December to February the Harmattan brings hazy, dusty skies and cooler mornings.
In May 2024 President Akufo-Addo renamed Kumasi Airport after Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh I. Prempeh I was the king who refused to submit to the British. In 1896 British troops occupied Kumasi, arrested him with members of his family and court, and sent him into exile, first to Elmina and Sierra Leone and from 1900 to the Seychelles. He was allowed to return to Kumasi only in 1924, as a private citizen, and was later recognised again as Kumasehene. His exile is one of the founding stories of modern Asante, and of the long road to Ghana's independence.
Elmina Castle, where he was held Kumasi Fort 1,000 years of Ghanaian history
Kumasi's airfield was established in 1943, during the Second World War, as a Royal Air Force base, one of the chain of wartime airfields across the Gold Coast alongside Takoradi, Tamale and Sunyani. A new terminal followed in 1993, and in 2003 the airport was declared international, at least on paper.
The real transformation began on 25 May 2018. Phase 2, worth about €66.35 million and built by Contracta Construction UK, delivered the new 12,000 m² terminal, two boarding bridges, a power substation, roads and parking. Phase 3, worth €58.9 million, covers the runway extension from 1,981 to 2,320 metres, a new taxi link and apron stands, a new control tower and fire station. Promised for June 2022, then for 2023, the terminal was finally commissioned on 10 May 2024 by President Akufo-Addo and the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and opened to passengers on 1 July 2024.
Still under construction
The runway extension was due to be finished by the end of 2025. In 2026 the work is still going on. Until it is complete, the airport can handle regional jets well, but regular service by larger aircraft remains limited. Ghana Airports Company has also started design studies for a separate new domestic terminal.
On 6 December 2024 an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft, flight ETH8719 from London Gatwick, landed in Kumasi: the first international passenger flight in the airport's history, organised by Ghana Airports Company together with Ethiopian Airlines. A small number of further charter flights were planned for the following months.
In October 2026 Kumasi has no regular scheduled international flight. Everyone flying abroad from the Ashanti Region still goes through Accra. The diaspora demand is real, especially from the UK, where many Asante families live, but the unfinished runway, airline economics and Accra's huge choice of carriers have so far kept the London–Kumasi route a promise.
Our view
Unlike Ho or Bolgatanga, Kumasi has the passengers. A direct Kumasi–London or Kumasi–regional route could work once the runway is finished. We will add any real international service here the day tickets go on sale.
Ethiopian Airlines British Airways from Accra Ghana in the UK
Accra to Kumasi is about 250 km, four to six hours by bus or car, sometimes far more. The Accra–Kumasi road is one of the busiest and most dangerous in Ghana, and a new expressway is under construction. If you can afford it, the 45-minute flight is not only faster, it is safer.
Kumasi is the capital of the Asante kingdom, Ghana's second city and its most proudly traditional one: the palace of the Asantehene, the vast Kejetia market, the craft villages that weave kente and stamp adinkra, and the crater lake of Bosomtwe an hour away.
Tours in Kumasi and the Ashanti Region: Manhyia, the craft villages, Lake Bosomtwe and the Asante heritage. Entrance fees are included in the tour price; tips are not included but always welcome.
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Updated and fact-checked: 28 October 2026. Project figures from Ghana Airports Company and the Ministry of Transport; passenger figures from the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority; flight information from published schedules and press reports up to October 2026. Schedules change; always confirm with the airline before booking. Text and research by Remo Kurka for GhanaFlights.info. This website carries no Google advertising.