Namibian media are reporting that the Namibian government has decided not to reconstitute and revive its bankrupt carrier Air Namibia, but to start a brand new carrier.
Air Namibia was voluntarily liquidated in 2021 after several years of financial losses incurring US$453 million (R7,9 billion) in government bail-outs and a mountain of debt over the three decades prior. Several hundred employees lost their jobs.
The decision to start a new carrier was announced last month by Namibia’s Works and Transport Minister Veikko Nekundi, who said the venture had the support of President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, who has commissioned a US$1,13m (R20m) feasibility study.
Nekundi told Namibia’s New Era that the government would not revive the name Air Namibia and would focus on building a new, sustainable airline from the ground up.
The Minister claimed that it was mismanagement and a lack of accountability that had been the key reasons for Air Namibia’s collapse. However, he expressed his confidence in the success of a new national carrier, managed with “proper oversight”.
“We see no reason why a national airline cannot be self-sustainable if managed with good governance and sound business principles. If we make decisions that are in the best interest of the company, the taxpayer and Namibia, the airline will flourish,” he said
No launch date for the new airline was supplied, but the Minister said the project was well under way and at an advanced stage. Word is that it will be established by December next year.
Member of Parliament Vaino Hangula (a former employee of Air Namibia) has called on Nekundi to include former Air Namibia employees in the process of the establishment and operation of the new national airline. “We demand to be the first to be considered for employment in the new national airline.”
