Botswana and Namibia have signed agreement letters on civil aviation Search And Rescue (SAR) that will coordinate services in the country to meet domestic needs and international standards. The agreement will also ensure support during accidents as well as an
overall plan for the coordination of civil search and rescue operations in the event of an air disaster.
Air Namibia (SW), will from 31MAY, axe its 4x weekly Windhoek - Gaborone, Botswana flights. The rationalization comes after the carrier announced it would drop its Johannesburg - Windhoek - Accra, Ghana service from 10APR13.
Turkish Cargo, the cargo division of Turkish Airlines (TK) plans to add a further 10 operational stations in Africa before the end of the year says Halit Anlatan, Turkish Cargo VP of Sales & Marketing.
The Namibian Airports Company (NAC) is currently constructing a new USD1.36million (NAD12.5million) state-of-the art fire and rescue station at Windhoek's Eros Airport. Together with an emergency control centre, as well as ablution and recreational facilities for staff, the new facilities will allow the airport to comply with standards stipulated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Air Namibia's (SW) has settled its outstanding debt with fuel supplier, South African based Engen. Fuel bills have continuously hurt the Namibian national carrier's coffers with an estimated 40% of revenue going to fuel related expenses alone.
The wreckage of a Jabiru J400 light aircraft (MSN ? | ZU-EWR) carrying Namibian pilot Mike Berry and Emmy award winning South African filmmaker and photographer, Richard Mathews, was found yesterday morning in the rugged and highly mountainous area north of Purros near Sesfontein in Namibia's north-western Kunene Region. There were no survivors according to Namibian Police.
In what is fast becoming a bad trend amongst southern African carriers - the South African government "loaning" South African Airways (SA) over USD500million and Zimbabwe set to cover Air Zimbabwe's USD188million debt bill - it appears that the Namibian Government has now budgeted a whooping USD120million (NAD1.1billion) to pay for "business plan updates and outstanding debts" for struggling national carrier Air Namibia (SW), with further allocations due until 2016.
Marcus Van Heerden, the owner of Blu Crane Air, the Port Elizabeth based start up, says his plan for the airline is to fill "a gap in the Eastern Cape air route network," and not to compete with established carriers, though the addition of charter operations to Mozambique and Namibia in future does remain a possibility.
The Namibia Airports Company (NAC) is in the process of setting up its formal air service development initiative dubbed "FlyWindhoek", aimed at boosting passenger traffic at Windhoek's Hosea Kutako International Airport by bringing in more international tour operators and scheduled and charter airlines.
Contrary to the old adage that "No news is good news", the silence emanating from Windhoek regarding Air Namibia's (SW) new business plan, pitched to its sole shareholder, the Namibian Government, late last week, is starting to unsettle players in Namibia's tourism industry, already hit by the Eurozone crisis.
Namibia's national carrier, Air Namibia (SW), last week Friday 4 January 2013, took delivery of the first of two Airbus A319s (MSN 5400 | V5-ANN) with the aircraft performing a welcoming fly-past over the city of Windhoek, as well as Windhoek's Hosea Kutako International Airport.
Air Namibia (SW) has announced it is to reduce its frequencies to Frankfurt, Germany from daily to 5x weekly over the period 19 January 2013 - 17 March 2013 as a result of reduced demand. The carrier is to drop its Day 2,6 service from Windhoek to Frankfurt and its Day 3,7 services from Frankfurt to Windhoek.
Namibia's national carrier, Air Namibia (SW), is set to take delivery of two Airbus A319s (MSN 5366 | V5-ANM) and (MSN 5400 | V5-ANN) following a handing over ceremony in Hamburg, Germany last week.
After nearly 2 weeks on strike and protracted negotiations that severely disrupted Namibian national carrier Air Namibia's operations, the Namibian Pilots Association (NAPA) has acquiesced to Air Namibia management's initial offer of a 5% pay rise.
Due to the increasing length of the previous post, a new one has been started to cover the latest update on Air Namibia's (SW) on-going NAPA industrial action.
The season for go slows and strikes appears to have hit the African aviation scene this week with 4 countries reporting industrial action, either planned, or ongoing.
[SEE NEW POST FOR ADDED UPDATES] Air Namibia's (SW) pilot union, the Namibian Airline Pilots Association (NAPA), has proceeded with industrial action after a breakdown in talks with the carrier's management. The strike went into effect this morning, Friday 16 November 2012 at 00h01.
Air Namibia (SW) has announced various changes to its operational schedule. These changes are to take effect from 15 January 2013 onwards.
As part of its long term expansion strategy, Namibian national carrier, Air Namibia (SW), has awarded a contract worth USD4million to Chicago-based firm JBT AeroTech, to supply it with new airport ground equipment.