Air Namibia on Friday commenced its flights to Accra and Lagos at a short but gorgeous ceremony at the Kotoka International Airport.
The new route will provide direct connection between Southern Africa and West African countries, with flights departing from Windhoek as the hub.
The convenient new service operates four times a week (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday & Friday from Windhoek), providing a smooth and convenient connections inbound and outbound to the airline's regional flights.
It would connect West Africa via Windhoek to and from Johannesburg, Cape Town, Luanda, Harare, Lusaka, Vic Falls, Gaborone, Walvis Bay, Durban and beyond.
Also, the routing includes Windhoek-Lagos-Accra while the return will be Accra- Lagos -Windhoek.
The operation will further transport passengers and cargo on the Lagos-Accra-Lagos leg, utilising the fifth freedom traffic rights granted by the Ghanaian and Nigerian Governments, as contained in the existing Bilateral Air Service Agreements.
Air Namibia is closing a gap in the market by competitively connecting Southern Africa to West Africa less than six hours.
Acting Managing Director, Mandi Samson, in a speech read on her behalf said: “The decision to launch flights into West Africa is in line with Air Namibia's mandate and purpose for existence – creating air transport linkages to promote intra-Africa connectivity and regional integration.”
“We offer an award winning on-board service delivered by our highly trained and professional crew which has enabled us to on several occasions be rated as the Best Regional Airline in Southern Africa, as well as the 2nd Best Regional Airline in Africa.
On the operation of route, Xavier Masule, General Manager for Commercial Services stated: “The operation fits within our existing capacity in terms of aircraft and crew, improving the utilization rates of these resources while increasing revenue generating opportunities. Especially as it means we are entering Africa's largest regional air travel market.”
Mr Masule thanked Ghana's government, Minister of Aviation, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and all stakeholders, who played a crucial role to ensure that Air Namibia returns to Ghana.
Former High Commissioner of Ghana to Namibia and Botswana, Haruna Attah commented: “Namibia is a great meat-eating nation. I know Ghanaians also love meat and with Air Namibia now coming back, they can hop over and visit Namibia. Namibian beef is exported to Europe and other parts of the world. But that is not to say sea food is scant. With such an extensive access to the sea, fish and other edible creatures of the salty waters are in plentiful supply.”
