Meridian Airways (Accra) and Airlift International (Accra) are the carriers most affected by a Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) ban on the operation of DC-8 aircraft within the country. No reason for the moratorium has been given. "Pursuant to the powers conferred on the Director General by Section 9 (2) of the Ghana Civil Aviation Act, 2004, Act 678, this Directive is hereby made to take effect from 23:59 UTC on 31st December, 2013. In accordance with the requirements of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, it is hereby directed that all air operators of aircraft registered in Ghana engaged in any form of commercial transport, shall from the date specified in this publication case [sic] from operation McDonnell Douglas DC 8 aircraft [sic]," the GCAA said in a statement. Both cargo carriers, Meridian and Airlift International had operated one and three DC-8-63(F)s respectively, all of which have now been grounded. According to the AviationSafety Network, two of Airlift's DC-8 freighters, 9G-TOP (msn 46151) & 9G-RAC (msn 46093), were exempt from the European Union's Banned Operators' List.