Qatar Airways has announced that it will temporarily suspend flights to Windhoek starting from November 23 of this year, citing operational reasons.
The decision which was communicated to travel agents, comes as the carrier, which was operating three weekly non-stop flights to and from Windhoek via Hamad International Airport (HIA) using a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, only resumed flights in June of last year.
The resumption of flights linked Windhoek to over 200 locations in 31 African countries each week, as well as approximately 150 destinations across the globe.
However, this development coincides with the Namibia Airports Company (NAC) revealing that Zambia Airways, Edelweiss, and KLM plan to launch flights to Windhoek.
Edelweiss and KLM are expected to commence flights to Namibia within the next 12 months, following the engagement of five international airlines as part of the company’s route development initiative.
Additionally, the Zimbabwean national airline, Air Zimbabwe, has expressed plans to initiate flights between Harare and Windhoek, aiming to capitalize on a market gap left by the collapse of Air Namibia.
South African low-budget airline FlySafair has also announced intentions to provide daily flights from Johannesburg to Windhoek by the third quarter of this year, after obtaining permission from the International Air Services Council to operate commercial flights to this destination, among others.
Namibia has experienced a surge in interest for flights to Hosea Kutako International Airport, with the Lufthansa Group increasing its Eurowings Discover flight frequencies to 10 flights per week, including the Victoria Falls route, effective from March 27, 2023, until the end of October 2023. Similarly, Ethiopian Airlines has also boosted its flight frequencies to seven flights weekly, starting from March 28, 2023.
