Air Namibia liquidation threatens survival of Namibia Airports Company (NAC)
On February 10, the Namibian state, unable to bail out Air Namibia for the umpteenth time, opted for liquidation. The national company represented 65% of the air traffic of the 8 main airports in the country.
NAC, the manager of these platforms, fears for its future. During its operation, Air Namibia represented 65% of the activities of the Namibia Airports Company (NAC). This is what the president and CEO of the public manager of Namibia's 8 main airports told us on February 12th. “Since the creation of the NAC in 1999, Air Namibia has been a partner and a key player in promoting the development of air services nationally, regionally and internationally,” said Bisey Uirab, speaking at The Namibian. According to him, the liquidation of the national airline (decided by the state on February 10) will have a considerable impact on the returns of his company. It therefore calls for a new marketing of the destination Namibia, in order to attract more carriers, and to increase the number of passengers passing through its airports. Currently, Eurowings, Ethiopian Airlines, Airlink and FlyWestair, the Namibian private flag, are the only carriers connecting the country internationally. Based at Eros International Airport in Windhoek, FlyWestair also (partially) covers the domestic network. The company connects the Namibian capital with Walvis Bay and Ondangwa. When it launched its operations in June 2019, its first route led to Oranjemund. In the absence of Air Namibia, it would benefit from resuming flights to this destination, but also from opening regular routes to Katima Mulilo, Lüderitz and Rundu. Anything that should also benefit the NAC. It plans to invest more than $ 89 million over the next 5 years for the development of its airports.
