Air Namibia’s Comeback Meant To Boost Trade & Tourism

Air Namibia is aiming at improving trade relations between ECOWAS and other regional blocs within Africa with its resumption of operations in Ghana.

The airline welcomed its inaugural flight for the new operations last Friday with major commitments to boost air travel.

Air Namibia is coming back to Ghana after closing down its operations in 2014.

The airline had been operating the Accra-Johannesburg-Windhoek route for five years but had to stop because of low passenger numbers.

But the General Manager for Commercial Services, Xavier Masule tells Citi Business News such concerns on visa and operational efficiency have been addressed.

“It was challenging times in terms of economies since we were not having the financial muscle to put things in place to aid convenient flights between the two countries. We also did not have a visa issuing authority in Ghana as all visas were supposed to have been acquired in Nigeria. But at the moment, we now have an embassy in Accra which guarantees between 24 and 36 hours to get a visa from Ghana to Namibia,” he explained.

The development also comes at a time where Ghana is working to become an aviation hub within West Africa.

The High Commissioner of Namibia to Ghana, Charles Josob also highlights the benefit of ease of trading among countries with faster and convenient flights.

“Trade and tourism can increase in both countries; people can now find it easier to come to Ghana from Namibia and vice versa. Ultimately what we want to see is trade between countries improving so that businesses will be able to access whatever it is they want to purchase,” he said.

Air Namibia will be operating four times a week with transit flights from Accra to Lagos and Windhoek and vice versa.