Air Namibia becomes latest airline casualty

State-owned Air Namibia’s service from Frankfurt to the southern African country’s capital Windhoek was the airline’s only direct link with Europe. The service was used by some UK tour operators after a short-lived attempt to operate from Gatwick.

Air Namibia’s demise was the result of debts built up over successive years, with the Namibian government saying it was no longer willing to fund bale-outs.

The Namibian newspaper quotes the country’s finance minister Ipumbu Shiimi as saying that £550 million had been pumped into the loss-making carrier but that an estimated 15 of 19 routes were unprofitable due to high staff numbers and other overheads.

Shiimi told a press conference the airline had lost £5.53 million a month during the pandemic, less than the almost £6 million a month lost when it was actually operating.