Ethiopian Airlines in Nigeria has banned the infamously nicknamed “Ghana Must Go” bags from their flights there.
The luggage got the nickname in Nigeria in the 1980s, when hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants, many of whom were Ghanaian, were expelled.
People fled with the red-and-blue checked bags on their backs.
Now, the airline says, the ubiquitous carriers, a favourite of traders, can badly affect airport equipment.
Henok Gizachew, the airline’s Manager of Airport Services disclosed this via a letter addressed to the regional manager of the Federal Airports Authority Of Nigeria (FAAN).
The statement for passengers travelling through the country’s international airports read: “Please be informed that effective November 25, 2023, the usage of Ghana Must Go to travel on our flight is hereby prohibited.”
“The use of Ghana Must Go as a means of packing baggage has cost the airlines huge loss and also damaging the conveyor belt system, not only on out flight but also on other foreign airlines, hence the prohibition,” the letter dated November 24 stated.
However, the airline offered a reprieve for users of the bag to continue to use them to package their luggage on the condition that they must be well packed in cartons of a hardcover of rectangular size.
Ghana-must-go bags are popular sac-like load carriers in Nigeria that come in different sizes and colours and are preferred by many owing to their durability and affordability.
It became quite popular during the 1983 Ghana-Must-Go saga under the then President of Nigeria,Shehu Shagari.
Information Nigeria understands that in 2017, Dubai introduced a similar rule.
Ali Angizeh, vice-president of terminal operations at Dubai International, had said the Ghana-must-go bags, which would subsequently be regarded as “non-compliant baggage”, could disrupt the advanced baggage systems that would be introduced.
The new rule, he said, would reduce the risk of baggage mishandling at check-in counters.
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