Air Namibia Ends Operations - By Daisy BARRO

 

It is a sad day today for the staff of Air Namibia, as the airline finally shuts down operations following a cabinet decision to file for voluntary liquidation, leaving over 600 employees jobless.

The information released yesterday February 10, 2021 by the Management of the airline made it clear that effective this morning, “All flight operations will be canceled, with all aircraft returning to base.” By the same token, the reservation system for taking new bookings was equally suspended.

In a bid to appease agitated clients, the troubled airline has provided e-mail addresses to its customers in case they want to claim refunds for payments made before the unfortunate incident.

According to information leaked to the public, though staff will lose their jobs, they will continue to enjoy preferential treatment and still benefit from full severance packages from the liquidators.

Air Namibia has been facing serious challenges even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which obviously arrived to compound an already bad situation.

Experts now advise governments to learn from the carrier’s story and resist the urge to float national carriers, which can constitute massive drain pipes. This, according to them, is because their very existence depends largely on patriotism and national pride; and their survival on government bailouts.