The Namibia Airports Company (NAC) says it is confident South African low-cost carrier FlySafair will launch flights between Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako International Airport and Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport next year.
NAC Chief Executive Officer Bisey /Uirab made the comments following a courtesy call by the Popular Democratic Movement to assess the facilities at the airport.
“The earliest indication we are having from them is the first quarter of next year. First quarter next year we will get some of them, Safair and so on. We are confident that by the first quarter next year, we will see one airline come here, but also see frequencies increase, instead of three times for example, maybe four or five times a week or even seven times a week,” he said.
Many airlines had expressed a key interest in offering services to Namibia, with /Uirab saying the process would take time before airlines started flying into, and out of Namibia.
“The interest has been expressed by many airlines to come to Namibia, obviously they have their business case, looking at the number of passengers that come to Namibia, and plan their networks, but these are processes that are ongoing,” he said.
/Uirab previously revealed that the Zambian government has already communicated its intention to launch the route with the Ministry of Works and Transport, with details still to be communicated.
“NAC received notification through the Ministry of Works and Transport that the Government of the Republic of Zambia has designated the Zambia Airways Limited to operate a scheduled passenger carrier on the Lusaka-Windhoek-Lusaka route. The planned dates for operations, including the flight schedules, are yet to be communicated for consideration and approval,” he said during the company’s annual general meeting.
/Uirab also revealed that Edelweiss and KLM were expected to commence flights to Namibia within the next 12 months after five international airlines had been engaged as part of the company’s route development initiative.
“As part of the NAC’s Route Development initiative, management met with five airlines in Europe in particular, British Airways, Condor Airlines, Edelweiss, Eurowings Discover and KLM in April 2023 to prepare the groundwork for future international flights from these potential (and existing) carriers. As an outflow of the said Route Development initiative major airlines such as Edelweiss and KLM are expected to commence flight operations to Namibia within the next 12 months,” he said.
