FlyWestair: ‘It's about time!’

In an effort to help boost the recovery of tourism in Namibia, FlyWestair is launching two new routes to north-eastern Namibia, with the introduction of flights between their hub at Eros Airport Windhoek and Rundu, as well as Katima Mulilo later this month.

Departing from Eros Airport in Windhoek, the incorporation of these new scheduled routes will connect Namibians and visitors between the capital and the north-eastern regions and beyond.

FlyWestair’s domestic flight schedule, offers five weekly flights between Eros Airport in Windhoek and Andimba Toivo Ya Toivo Airport in Ondangwa. It will offer two weekly flights service between Rundu and Windhoek as of 24 August and three weekly flights between Katima Mulilo and Windhoek starting 25 August.

These destinations are integral hubs for so many of Namibia’s north-eastern denizens.

FlyWestair would like to continue its pledge to support and connect Namibians. Katima Mulilo, the capital of the Zambezi region, is an important gateway to other Southern African Development Community (SADC) nations, notably Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

“Not only will the introduction of these two destinations help relieve the weight of travel for those who live there and conduct business, but it will also support our crucial, currently downtrodden tourism industry,” FlyWestair says.

“The introduction of Katima and Rundu is set to ease travel for visitors to Namibia who would like to include the Kavango and Zambezi regions in their itinerary, but do not have sufficient days in their schedule for the long drives,” it adds.

FlyWestair is a proudly Namibian privately owned airline, the first of its kind in the country. Since restarting operations in October 2020, FlyWestair has focused on simplifying the travel experience for all clients.

COVID-19

For international travellers, FlyWestair is offering easy and convenient Covid-19 testing at its Eros Airport offices. FlyWestair requires all passengers to follow strict Covid-19 regulations and to wear their mask correctly for the duration of every flight.

The airline remains focused on assisting the Namibian travel and aviation industry recover in a post-Covid environment, FlyWestair says.

“FlyWestair remains committed to developing and expanding the local Namibian aviation infrastructure by growing and investing back into the local aviation businesses and the communities in which we operate within.

“At FlyWestair, customer service is our top priority, which has led to the introduction of our new Customer Call Centre, which is operational 24/7. Contact us on +264 83 339 0011.

“We have also added a temporary policy where clients receive one free date amendment on their booking. We are here to support you during these uncertain times.

“We look forward to welcoming you on FlyWestair soon: It's about time,” the airline says.

TOURISM CRUCIAL

Tourism in Namibia on average contributed 2% to the gross domestic product (GDP), while between 2013 and 2019 it contributed on average N$4.49 billion per annum in foreign earnings, according to the Bank of Namibia (BoN). Preliminary data released by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) shows hotels and restaurants – a proxy for the performance of tourism – last year contributed around N$2.55 billion to the gross domestic product (GDP) in nominal terms.

From 2014 to 2019, hotels and restaurants’ annual growth averaged 4.6%. In 2020, real annual growth plummeted to -33.1%.

Prior to the pandemic, travel services were the third biggest contributor to Namibia’s export earnings, according to the BoN. In the country’s balance of payments, travel services mainly consist of expenditure by tourists on accommodation, food and local transport services.

The tourism sector is labour intensive and provides many jobs for low-skilled workers, together with higher-skilled jobs, the BoN points out.

According to the latest labour force survey, the sector in 2018 employed about 11% of the total workforce, making it the second largest contributor to employment. About 31% of employment in the sector was formal, while the remaining 69% was informal.

RECOVERY

The outlook for tourism is “extraordinarily uncertain”, the BoN says.

The BoN says the recovery of the sector will depend on the interlinked impacts of the economic and health crises on demand and supply side factors. These include the evolution of the pandemic, the availability of a vaccine (or alternative control measures) and the lifting of travel restrictions, as well as the survival and readiness of businesses throughout the tourism ecosystem to meet demand, the impact on consumer confidence and travel behaviour, and developments in the wider economy.