Namibia’s government will carry out a study, with plans to determine the feasibility of a relaunch of its national carrier, Air Namibia.
The Namibian government has indeed allocated 20 million Namibian dollars (NAD) for a feasibility study on reviving Air Namibia.
There are plans in the pipeline, to relaunch the airline by 2026.
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP FOR AIR NAMIBIA RELAUNCH
Plans indicate that NAD 3 billion will be required in the next five years to support the relaunched airline. However, there are hopes to get buy-in from the private sector.
An expression of interest for a public-private partnership is expected by August 2025.
An official relaunch of the airline is expected to take place between June and December next year.
Air Namibia would relaunch regional flights before expanding to international destinations.
A FINANCIAL BURDEN
Air Namibia was liquidated in 2021, when the Namibian government deemed its national airline to be a financial burden to the state.
After the collapse of Air Namibia, privately owned West Air began to dominate the country’s aviation landscape.
WestAir then introduced scheduled services on a number of routes, operating as FlyNamibia.
While a national carrier may be a symbol of national pride for citizens it may also become a burden on state resources.
In the case of Air Namibia, the government used large amounts of state funds to keep the national carrier going.
In Namibia’s 2020/2021 budget, NAD 698 million was allocated to the airline, according to The Namibian.
ALSO READ: FlyNamibia resumes flights to Namibian coastal town, Luderitz
AIR NAMIBIA ROUTES AND FLEET
Air Namibia’s fleet comprised two Airbus A330s, four Airbus A319s and 4 Embraer Regional Jets prior to its collapse.
It operated scheduled domestic, regional, and international passenger and cargo services.
The airline had an international hub at Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako International Airport and a domestic hub at Windhoek’s Eros Airport.
Its route network comprised destinations in Namibia, Africa and Europe.
In Namibia it flew between Windhoek, Luderitz, Katima Mulilo, Ondangwa, Oranjemund, Rundu and Walvis Bay.
Its African destinations included Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Gaborone, Lusaka, Harare as well as Victoria Falls.
In Europe, Air Namibia operated flights to Frankfurt.
Namibia’s post-Covid tourism boost has seen growing tourism flows into the country.
This has opened up opportunities for other carriers.
FlySafair has introduced a new route into Namibia last year.
