US bans Ghanaian state airline

The Tuesday night flight from Accra to New York was cancelled

Ghana Airways has been banned from flying to the United States with immediate effect.

The suspension will remain in place pending an investigation into allegations that it flew unsafe planes and operated with an expired licence.

Robert Johnson, a spokesman for the US transport department, said it was the first time such action had been taken on safety grounds.

The Ghanaian state airline operates four round trips to the US a week.

'Rescheduled'

The ban followed two cases when the airline continued to fly a plane grounded by the American Federal Aviation Administration for safety reasons, Mr Johnson said.

"Ghana Airways' recent actions have raised serious questions regarding safety and licensing, which must be answered before the airline will be allowed to resume service to and from the United States," a US transportation department announcement said on Tuesday.

Despite the expiry of the airline's operating licence earlier this month, Ghana Airways continued to fly, the Associated Press news agency reports.

Passengers have already been affected by the ban.

A direct round trip flight scheduled to leave Ghana's capital Accra to New York's JFK airport on Tuesday at 2330 GMT was cancelled.

According to Ghana Airways' website, the flights are to be rescheduled.