Electioneering has taken off in Namibia, where the ruling South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) has again promised to revive the country's defunct national airline Air Namibia, reports the Namibian newspaper.
"We will revive the national airline under very well thought out strategies to avoid the pitfalls of the past," SWAPO vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah reportedly told supporters at the weekend during the launch of the party's manifesto ahead of the November 27 general election. She also promised to upgrade airports, including Windhoek International, Caprivi, and Rundu, and conduct a feasibility study for upgrading Keetmanshoop.
SWAPO previously called for the resurrection of Air Namibia in December 2022, while attempts by start-up Fly Etosha to replace the national carrier have not materialised. However, the government has since denied it was planning a new national carrier. It voluntarily liquidated Air Namibia in 2021.
The decision followed financial strain from a EUR9.9 million euro (USD11 million) settlement related to historical debt owed to the defunct Belgian carrier Challengair, stemming from a long-standing dispute over a B767-300ER lease and maintenance contract from 1998. This liquidation helped prevent the bankruptcy estate from claiming the airline's assets. The Challengair bankruptcy case was closed in 2022, its previous administrator, Anicet Baum, informed ch-aviation.
