The government has urged international airlines to consider partnering with domestic airlines to collectively grow the aviation sector in the country.

“International airlines should consider partnering with the domestic airlines in a manner that will facilitate international airlines’ business,” Mr. Hassan Tampuli, the Deputy Minister for Transport has urged.

There are currently 23 international and regional flights servicing KIA. Three domestic airlines—Africa World Airlines (AWA), PassionAir, and GIAN AIR—provide scheduled and non-scheduled flights to the domestic market.

The level of partnership between domestic and international airlines has mostly been interline agreements, where two or more airlines agree to handle passengers when their itinerary requires travelling on multiple airlines.

In 2017 and 2018, Ethiopian Airlines and Brussels Airlines respectively signed an interline agreement with Africa World Airlines (AWA) to offer more travelling options for Ghanaian passengers.

These partnerships meant that passengers travelling from WA, Tamale, Kumasi, Accra, and Takoradi to any of the destinations served by Ethiopian and Brussels, can check-in their luggage at their respective domestic airports and pick them up at their final destination in the about 120 countries served respectively by Brussels and Ethiopian.

This creates more convenience for travelers as they wouldn’t have to check in their bags again when they arrive at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) bound for any of the destinations served by Ethiopian and Brussels–which is a member of the Lufthansa Group.

The limited number of scheduled domestic airlines and the lack of an IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification have been the key factors holding back the establishment of more such partnerships.

The IOSA program is an evaluation system that assesses the operational management and control systems of an airline. International airlines have more confidence in establishing partnerships with domestic airlines that are IOSA-certified.