Government’s local content drive, which is active in the oil and gas sector, has transcended the petroleum industry and is now being witnessed in the aviation sector, following the formalisation of a partnership between South Africa (SAA) Airways and indigenous carrier Africa World Airlines (AWA).

The country’s local content was passed in 2013 to primarily govern the oil and gas sector as government sought to ensure that indigenes benefitted from the start of commercial oil and gas production in the country.

However, other sectors of the economy that ought to be guided by government’s policy have yet to ensure full local participation to create jobs for locals and build the capacity of local companies.

The partnership between the two airlines comes at a time when SAA is seeking to build a second hub outside its home market.

SAA is scheduled to operate a non-stop service between Accra and Washington D.C. in August. It current operates flights from Accra to other destinations in the West African sub-region, and a direct flight between Accra and Johannesburg.

The partnership is expected to lead to the building of the capacity of AWA crew as they are to be seconded to SAA to operate transatlantic flights.

The South African carrier is also to support AWA obtain an IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) accreditation, sponsor AWA to join the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Clearing House (ICH), provide engineering and technical support, and sponsor AWA to join the Star Alliance.

The South African flag-carrier is also, as part of the partnership, to offer support for pilots, customer service, ground-handling, revenue accounting; and to second SAA staff to AWA to build capacity in core functions.

Kendy Phohleli, SAA Executive Africa Hub Projects, in a ststement said: “SAA’s decision to route some of its North American-bound flights to Ghana is based on sound business principles, as there is considerable demand for passengers wanting to fly from Ghana to the U.S.

“Directly connecting the two countries, now made possible with the granting of traffic rights by the Ghana government, will aid existing trade relations and further strengthen Ghana’s robust economic outlook and its imminentAGOA status.

“The South African carrier connecting Ghana to America is not the only outcome of this initiative; SAA has also formed a partnership with a domestic Ghanaian carrier, offering customers more travel options within the West African region.

“True to our promise of improving inter-connectivity on the continent by actively pursuing Bilateral Air Service Agreements, SAA entered into a bi-lateral codeshare agreement with Africa World Airlines, the fastest-growing airline in Ghana which operates domestic and regional flights in West Africa. Based at the Kotoka InternationalAirport in Accra, the airline was recently awarded “Domestic Airline of the Year” in Ghana.

“This partnership will offer SAA customers from Washington and Johannesburg seamless connectivity via Accra to other destinations in Ghana; such as Kumasi, Takoradi, and Tamale as well as to Lagos, Nigeria,” Mr. Phohleli said.

AWA currently operates three Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft and is expected to complement these with two Airbus 319 series later this year.