Air Namibia, which requested and was refused a US$119m (R2,04bn) government bailout last October, has been rescued by an allocation from the Namibian Department of Public Enterprises. But the carrier could still be heading for possible restructuring.
Namibian President, Hage Geingob, told parliament on June 5 that the airline should be liquidated as it required constant government bailouts. “It must be restructured, and if liquidation is the thing, we must do that,” he said, according to Namibian publication, New Era.
But last week, Namibia’s Minister of Public Enterprises came to the rescue, allocating 70% of his department’s yearly budget to fund the airline to the tune of US$34m (R584,18m). The airline had also been given a US$34m loan guarantee in December 2019.
Air Namibia started domestic and repatriation flights on May 6, as the country moved to level two lockdown. But repatriation flights ceased after June 4 (the same day the president called for the liquidation of the carrier), and appear not to have resumed.
The airline is set to resume international scheduled flights, including to South Africa, in July.
