Pictures: Plane eating in West Africa
- Published
Destination: dinner time. This is the 'Green Plane' in Accra in Ghana, West Africa, and despite looking like it's about to take off, this plane stays put. It is in fact a family restaurant which has proved to be very popular since it opened two months ago.
It's an old DC-10 aeroplane which used to travel from Ghana to Europe and the US. It's owned by Ghana Airways but it had to stop flying because the company ran out of money. The government now hopes to earn some money from the aircraft through the restaurant. Manager Indira Shiyam says: “Attendance is very impressive. At first, people wanted to have a feel of restaurant in a plane but surprisingly they keep coming.”
Some visitors have never been inside an aeroplane. “I am excited to be here, my first time in a plane,” said Mary Dapaah as she posed for a photo. “It looks a little different from the inside of planes I see on television."
Some seats have been removed from the 380-seater plane to make way for dining tables and La Tante DC 10 Restaurant caters for 118 people, who enter the restaurant up the covered plane stairway.
The restaurant is close to Kotota International Airport – diners can hear planes taking off and landing. "The expectations of people who come here are very high... so you have to be extra nice and careful as if you are an air hostess,” says Peace Dzamenu, a waitress at the restaurant.
“Curiosity brought us here,” said a man in traditional dress who arrived with his family. Another customer said: “I fly often, been in a cruise ship, but the fascination of eating a local meal in a plane brought me here. The service is good… I have one wish though, if only they could spark the engine for us to have the feel of flying.”
With its tail fin sprayed in the national colours of red, yellow and green, the restaurant is open all day, but becomes especially busy in the evenings.
It serves local food such as tilapia, a spicy fish dish, with banku, a stiff maize porridge. Such food is usually cheap in Accra, so the dishes are considered relatively expensive at the Green Plane – however its prices are still cheaper than the city's fancy restaurants.
