Namibia plans to revive the defunct, Air Namibia, newly appointed Minister of Works and Transport, Veikko Nekundi has said.
He said the government of the new president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, will soon start consultations on reviving the airline, which was closed down four years ago.
The airline was liquidated in February 2021 by the Namibian government due to overwhelming debt and years of financial dependence on the state.
At the time of the liquidation, Air Namibia had significant debts of about N$3 billion and government-guaranteed debt of N$2.58 billion, a situation that the government said was unsustainable.
The ruling Swapo party said in its 2024 manifesto that reviving the national airline under very well-thought-out strategies to avoid the pitfalls of the past was part of its major plans.
The other plans in the manifesto are the upgrading of Hosea Kutako International, Katima Mulilo and Rundu Airports and conducting a feasibility study for the upgrading of Keetmanshoop and Lüderitz Airports.
Nekundi said his mandate as minister will include operationalizing the Keetmanshop airport in the south of the country and the Rundu airport in the north east of the country.
At the time of its liquidation, the government had spent 8 billion Namibian dollars in bailing out the airline since its independence in 1990. At that time, the government said Air Namibia’s liabilities outstripped its assets by more than N$2 billion.
The assets were valued at N$ 981 million, which included the book values at the time of the airline’s two owned A319-100s – while its liabilities totaled N$3 billion, excluding the leases of two further A319-100s and two A330-200s plus penalties for cancelling those leases.
The Ministry of Finance said at the time of liquidation that Air Namibia was losing N$190 million per month when operating and N$111 million per month when not operating.
