United Airlines · UA · Star Alliance · Accra ⇄ Washington Dulles
Most evenings a United Boeing 787 Dreamliner leaves Washington Dulles for Accra, landing the next morning, and flies back overnight to arrive in America before dawn. United is the only airline flying nonstop between Ghana and the American capital, home to one of the largest Ghanaian communities in the United States. Here is what flies, when, and what you need to know about the US visa.
United traces its roots to Varney Air Lines, which began carrying air mail in 1926. Today it is one of the largest airlines in the world, based in Chicago, and a founding member of the Star Alliance. In Africa it flies to Accra and Lagos from Washington, and to Johannesburg and Cape Town from Newark. Accra has been on its map since 2022.
Key facts
In summer 2026 United flew Washington–Accra five times a week; in earlier peak seasons, December to February, it has flown daily. Washington is five hours behind Ghana in winter and four in American summer time.
| Flight | Route | Times (local) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| UA996 | Washington Dulles → Accra | about 18:40 → about 09:00 next day | Overnight, arriving in Accra in the morning. |
| UA997 | Accra → Washington Dulles | about 22:20 → about 05:00 next day | Overnight, arriving before dawn. Early enough for connections across the US. |
Read this before booking
These times come from summer and October 2026 flight logs. United has changed the times and frequency of this route several times since 2022, often adding flights for December and Christmas. Always confirm your date on united.com. For New York, Delta flies direct from Accra every day.
Local time in both cities, the weather at this moment, and a converter between cedis, US dollars and the main currencies.
American English for Ghanaian ears
Washington is the American capital, built partly by the labour of enslaved people, and today one of the great centres of Black American life and memory. Tens of thousands of Ghanaians live in the surrounding suburbs of Maryland and Virginia, and the Ghanaian Embassy stands in the city. Not far away, Kwame Nkrumah studied at Lincoln University and the University of Pennsylvania in the 1930s and 1940s, years that shaped the ideas he brought home to the Gold Coast.
The United States in brief
Guided tours across the USA: Washington, New York, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Orlando and New Orleans, with local guides. Entrance fees are included in the tour price; tips are not included but always welcome, and in America a tip for the guide is expected.
The overnight flight from Accra lands at Dulles before dawn, in time for United's morning flights across North America. You clear US immigration in Washington, then continue.
United lands in Accra in the morning, with the whole day ahead. US citizens need a visa for Ghana, applied for in advance. Start in Accra itself: Jamestown and Brazil House, the Nkrumah Memorial Park and the last home of W. E. B. Du Bois. Then go west to the castles.
Accra International Airport December in Ghana
Airport pickup with free internet, private vehicle hire and a three-destination tour, booked before you land. Entrance fees are included in the tour price; tips are not included but always welcome.
Before you fly, tune in to the country you are going to. Live radio from all over the continent, in one place.
Every airline flying from Accra, each with its own timetable, routes and destination guide.
Flying on within Africa after you land in Accra? These city pages cover the airports and the routes that link them with Ghana.
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GhanaFlights.info belongs to an independent network of more than 70 African travel, heritage and information websites, online since December 2000. No Google advertising, no sponsored praise: just the routes and the countries, as they are.
Ghana-Net.com · Cape Coast Castle Museum · Elmina Castle · James Fort and Jamestown · Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park · Du Bois Centre · MyGhana2027.com · GhanaTrails.com · GhanaHotels.biz · NigerianRadio.com · AfricanIndependence.com
Updated and fact-checked: 29 October 2026. Timetables from flight logs for summer and October 2026; US visa information checked against official announcements up to October 2026. Always confirm times with the airline and visa rules at travel.state.gov before booking. Text and research by Remo Kurka for GhanaFlights.info. This website carries no Google advertising.