Zorena Jantze
AIR Namibia has announced that it has cancelled all flights across the border with immediate effect, leaving all Namibians who may still find themselves in foreign countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, stuck where they are.
Paul Nakawa, head of Corporate Communications at Air Namibia stated that Air Namibia had four scheduled repatriation charter flights to Cape Town, Johannesburg, London and China, however all of these flights have been cancelled until further notice.
Nakawa explained that the cancellation of flights would only apply to international flights while local flights will continue uninterrupted.
Asked what necessitated the move, Nakawa remained tightlipped and stated that he cannot explain the nitty gritty details however added that the cancellation in charter flights is related to operational requirements.
“The special charter flights we do were done in conjunction with airport authorities around the world. We regularly cancel flights if need arises. The flights have only been suspended till further notice,” Nakawa stated.
Last week, President Hage Geingob at the State of the Nation Address (SONA) stated that the national airline be liquidated, and be restructured as it currently does not make any profits.
Nakawa however added that this would spell danger for the countries tourism sector which has already been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If Air Namibia is liquidated, it would be a bad news for the country and tourism sector, although we understand that there are competing priorities with limited resources. As management, we have been dealing with legacy matters which the Shareholder is aware of and we keep doing so,” Nakawa said.
He further stated that financially, the airline has lost N$100 million per month in revenue after the ceasing of normal operations on account of the COVID-19 outbreak Namibia.
While the country has made significant strides in suppressing the community spread of the coronavirus, the rising number of confirmed cases stem from Namibians which have been repatriated from abroad by the national airliner.
Air Namibia on its social media page notified that all charter flights would be continued with immediate effect, including planned flights for South Africa which were made earlier in the week.
