Namibia's ruling South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) wants the government to resurrect Air Namibia with some of the remaining fleet of the defunct carrier to provide the large, arid country with regional connectivity, according to a resolution taken at the party's recent seventh elective congress in Windhoek.
"Revive Air Namibia to provide regional connectivity to destinations such as Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, Cape Town International (South Africa), Lusaka (Zambia), Harare International (Zimbabwe), Gaborone (Botswana), Luanda 4 De Fevereiro (Angola), Maputo (Mozambique), Addis Ababa International (Ethiopia), Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya), and similar," the resolution urged.
"With some aircraft capacities remaining in Namibia in the form of the Embraer and Airbus regional jets, Air Namibia's excellent safety reputation could be resuscitated," it added, as quoted by The Namibian newspaper.
However, Finance and Public Enterprises Deputy Minister Maureen Hinda-Mbuende said the status quo of Air Namibia would not be reviewed in the next financial year. Still, the government has not closed the book on the carrier. "It's not on the cards for the next financial year. This is something that needs some planning. When we get money, I think it will be one of the areas we can invest in. I think it's a good thing. We have not closed off the accounts," she said.
The government voluntarily liquidated Air Namibia in February 2021 over financial viability concerns but, at the time, it did not rule out starting another airline should it suit the country's developmental goals. The liquidation followed financial pressure resulting from a EUR9.9 million euro (USD11.9 million) settlement of historical debt to the bankruptcy estate of defunct Belgian carrier Challengair (Brussels National) related to a longstanding dispute over the lease and maintenance of a B767-300ER in 1998. The liquidation prevented the estate from attaching the airline's assets and leaving the state-owned Namibian Airports Company and other creditors empty-handed.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, two Air Namibia A319-100s are stored at Windhoek International and Johannesburg, respectively, while three of its EMB-135ERs are stored at Windhoek Eros and one at Durban King Shaka.
The collapse of Air Namibia and South Africa's Comair (South Africa) resulted in a temporary monopoly in regional connectivity for Namibian private carrier FlyNamibia (WV, Windhoek Eros) and South Africa's Airlink (South Africa) (4Z, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo), which has since bought 40% of the Namibian carrier. On December 8, South African Airways restored flights between Johannesburg and Windhoek. FlySafair has received approval for flights between Cape Town and Windhoek, with its application for services between Johannesburg and Windhoek still pending. The airline is hoping to start flying to Namibia in the third or fourth quarter of 2023, according to FlySafair marketing chief Kirby Gordon. CemAir (5Z, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) has applied for twice-daily frequencies between Johannesburg and Windhoek.
Meanwhile, South Africa's Lift Airlines (LIFT) is looking to export its hybrid airline model regionally and has mentioned Namibia as a potential target market.
According to the ch-aviation schedules module, Windhoek is also served by Ethiopian Airlines from Addis Ababa; Qatar Airways from Doha Hamad International; EW Discover from Frankfurt International (Germany), Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe), and Mbombela (South Africa); and TAAG Angola Airlines from Luanda.
