…The passion of Sylvia Baah
With two decades of experience working in the aviation industry and rising through the ranks at Emirates, Ms. Sylvia Baah described her career as being motivated by her passion to serve others and the urge to work in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.
Ms. Baah is currently the Airport Services Manager for Emirates in Ghana and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of operations at the airport – including customer service, ground handling, safety, security and logistics.
She works closely with a team of talented professionals to ensure that Emirates provides its passengers with a seamless and enjoyable travel experience.
She is a trailblazer who joined Emirates in 2004 when it began offering services to Ghana. She initially worked as a supervisor, then officer, and later to Airport Services Manager – a position she has held since 2011.
As someone who was already actively working in the airline industry before joining Emirates, she was poised to embrace the opportunity to work with one of the best airlines in the world when the chance presented itself.
This is because she regarded it as the ideal chance to dedicate more of her zeal to an industry in which she had always wanted to pursue a career.
Narrating her inspiration and how her career journey at Emirates has been, she said: “I have always found the airline industry a great window to the world and an opportunity to serve global travellers. Pursuing a career in the airline industry was a natural choice for me as it allowed me to combine my passion for being of service to others with my desire to work in a dynamic and fast-paced environment”.
Working at Emirates for about 20 years has enriched her interactions with some of the best professionals in the industry and has positioned her to be able to progress her career while contributing to the growth and success of the Emirates brand in Ghana.
She said the company culture at Emirates values excellence, innovation and collaboration, which has made it a fulfilling place to work.
Emirates’ contribution
Ms. Baah also shared her thought on Emirates’ contribution to the country’s aviation industry and the economy as a whole, saying its operations have provided travellers with more options for international travel, especially to the Middle East and Asia. She said many travellers have enjoyed stopping over in Dubai and being introduced to the United Arab Emirates.
“Emirates also enabled the new Terminal 3 at the Kotoka International Airport experience. A special Emirates A380 flight was flown to Ghana by a Ghanaian pilot, a wonderful occasion indeed!
“Emirates’ presence in Ghana has stimulated economic activities, created job opportunities, and supported the growth of local businesses,” she adds.
She further said the airline has facilitated the country’s investment promotion drive and contributed to the development of its tourism sector by promoting the country as a desirable destination for international visitors.
Emirates was recently recognised with the Presidential Honour for Distinguished Service at the 2023 Ghana National Honours Awards from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for its role in transporting medical supplies, humanitarian aid, and unstinting support to Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic. It supported the transport of equipment donated by China’s Jack Ma Foundation to the Government of Ghana and operated 12 repatriation flights from Dubai to Accra, bringing back over 3000 Ghanaian citizens, residents, and others from over 31 cities across its network seeking to return to the country.
Emirates was also honoured as the Most Valuable Airline Brand in Ghana at the 2023 Global Business Quality Awards.
These recognitions, Ms. Baah said, will motivate and inspire the Emirates team at Kotoka International Airport to continue delivering exceptional service to travellers.
“The Emirates team at Kotoka International Airport feels encouraged by these awards. They show that our efforts at the airport as part of the wider Emirates team in Ghana have been recognised and celebrated. We are motivated to serve passengers even better and we commit ourselves to excellence in customer service. This recognition shows how we, in Ghana, have come to appreciate what Emirates’ involvement with this country represents,” she stated.
Ms. Baah attributed these strides to the strong and dedicated team in Emirates; hence, in light of the recently celebrated May Day which commemorates the contributions of workers, she expressed her gratitude to each one of them for their hard work.
“I am proud of the Emirates team at Kotoka International Airport and would like to express my gratitude to each one of them for their hard work and dedication, which have contributed to the success of our operations at the airport and the overall success of Emirates in Ghana. I say ‘Ayekoo’ [Well done]. We also work closely at the airport with our partners, notably the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, Ghana Airports Company, Aviance Ghana, and Ghana Immigration Service.
“I would like to thank the afore-mentioned staff of our partners; with their contribution and support, we are where we are in the industry as the best in the country. Without their support, we could not have achieved such successful operations. We look forward to strengthening our partnerships.”
Ms. Baah’s story and thrive in the aviation industry, serving as an Airport Services Manager at a major airline in the country, is one that births new hope for that young female who envisages a career in the sector.
