New Era

Air Namibia resumes Joburg and Cape Town flights

- ■ Staff Reporter

Af ter months of being grounded from internatio­nal flights, since the state of emergency necessitat­ed by Covid-19, Air Namibia will finally take to foreign skies again as it will resume weekly flights to Johannesbu­rg and Cape Town as of 28 October 2020. The national airline’s Windhoek to Johannesbu­rg direct route will be operated on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, whereas two flights between Windhoek and Cape Town (direct & via Walvis Bay) will be operated on weekends, namely Fridays and Sundays.

Air Namibia’s interim CEO, Theo Mberirua, said the restart of the two routes is in line with the airline’s restart plan, following the long layoff due to Covid-19. “The decision to launch these routes is in line with Air Namibia’s mandate and purpose for existence – creating air transport linkages to promote intraAfric­a connectivi­ty and regional integratio­n,” Mberirua explained. He added; “Although the airline normally operates an extensive schedule that requires multiple destinatio­ns in

order to feed the entire network, the move by Air Namibia to breathe new life into these two routes will provide smooth and convenient connection­s inbound and outbound, connecting Namibia to the world, and the world to Namibia.”

With the high season for the air travel market looming and holidaymak­ers planning to visit the neighbouri­ng country and vice versa, Air Namibia’s operations are expected to meet the growing demand with the resumption of these routes.

“We would like to extend our appreciati­on and thanks to all our corporate, leisure customers and passengers for their continued business support during this most challengin­g time. We also thank sincerely the travel agents and tour operators for their continuous support. We look forward to meet our new and old customers on board,” read a statement from the airline.

The statement continued that Air Namibia’s mandate remains to be a major contributo­r towards the attraction and promotion of tourism to Namibia by providing air transport to and from the rest of the world, as well as operating domestic flights.

 ?? Photo: Contribute­d ?? Ready for take-off… From left: Ralph Naibab (First Officer), Moses Shihepo (AirNam Airport Manager: Hosea Kutako Internatio­nal Airport), Theo Mberirua, Leonard Shipuata (NAC Executive: Airport Operations), Bluemy Hamutenya (AirNam Acting Head: Commercial Services) and Captain Dylan OMalley.
Photo: Contribute­d Ready for take-off… From left: Ralph Naibab (First Officer), Moses Shihepo (AirNam Airport Manager: Hosea Kutako Internatio­nal Airport), Theo Mberirua, Leonard Shipuata (NAC Executive: Airport Operations), Bluemy Hamutenya (AirNam Acting Head: Commercial Services) and Captain Dylan OMalley.

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