Namibia, Air Peace in talks over direct flights to Windhoek

Air Peace, the Nigerian flag carrier is in discussion with the Namibian Government over the possibility of direct flights between Nigeria and Windhoek, the capital of Namibia.

A statement by Tunde Moshood, Special Adviser on Media and Communications to Keyamo, said that this formed parts of the discussions between Humphrey Geiseb, the Namibian Ambassador to Nigeria and Keyamo, when the former paid him a visit in his office in Abuja on Wednesday.

Geiseb in his speech, disclosed that Namibia was currently in discussion with Air Peace on the restoration of direct air connectivity between the two countries.

He did not however state the stage of the discussion with Air Peace on the direct air connectivity, but expressed his country’s desire to partner with Nigerian airlines.

Also, he encouraged Keyamo to engage with domestic airlines to explore potential collaboration opportunities in Namibia.

He expressed that the defunct national carrier, Air Namibia played vital role in ensuring air connectivity between the two countries, but regretted that since its collapse, the ties had reduced drastically.

According to him, the defunct airline was connecting Lagos to Accra during its operational days.

“Unfortunately, Air Namibia faced financial difficulties and was eventually forced to cease operations following a government bailout,” he said.

Presently, the ambassador said that it remained challenging to directly connect Windhoek with Nigeria, with travellers having to transit through Addis Ababa.

But he pointed out that there are occasional flights via TAG Airlines, which he said were not frequent enough to meet the demand for seamless travel between the two nations.

Responding, Keyamo expressed his support and shared a personal experience regarding the challenges of establishing direct flights in the region.

He referenced the successful Algeria/Lagos/Cameroon flight routes, which were initiated after the Algerian Ambassador proposed a direct connection, despite the proximity between Nigeria and Cameroon.

Also, Keyamo expressed that Xejet, Nigerian domestic carrier, currently operates Sierra Leone’s national carrier, Air Sierra Leone.

He said the airline could be a potential partner with the Namibian Government on direct air connectivity.