Windhoek
The Namibia Airports Company (NAC) has officially authorised Qatar Airways and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines for arrival and departure at Hosea Kutako International Airport.
Tamer El-Kallawi, CEO at Namibia Airports Company, expressed his delight with yet additional airlines that will operate to and from Hosea Kutako International Airport just outside the capital.
“Expansion and growth is the third phase of our strategic plan 2014-17, and one of the ways in which we can grow and expand is through new route development which is ongoing at NAC,” he said.
El-Kallawi added that route development negotiations and talks have borne fruit for NAC as Qatar Airways will start flying from Doha to Windhoek with four weekly direct flights with effect from September 28 using the massive Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
El-Kallawi said that airports and companies managing them were more than just vital parts of the global transport system, linking communities and businesses with the world.
“Airports and airport companies are also important employers and catalysts to skills development in their own right. As we grow our business by adding – amongst others – new airlines to our mix, we will grow our staff complement, thereby assisting the Harambee Prosperity Plan through upliftment, and training of our people and employment creation which leads to poverty reduction.”
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will start flying from Amsterdam via Luanda to Windhoek three times a week with effect from October 30 by using an Airbus A330-200 or A330-300.
“We look forward to welcoming them at our international airport and promise to live up to our vision of being a world-class service provider in airport operations and management,” El-Kallawi added.
Qatar Airways recently announced special introductory fares for its new African gateway, to celebrate the commencement of services to Windhoek. The special inaugural fare offers a discount of 25 percent on bookings made between August 23 and September 15, 2016, and is valid for travel between September 28, 2016 and June 20, 2017. Qatar Airways is offering this promotional fare on both Economy and Business Class travel.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines said its flight schedule for the three existing flights to Luanda, Angola will be adapted to make it possible to fly on to Windhoek and back after a short stopover.
“Based on our strong position in Europe, you can see that we regularly find opportunities to strengthen our international position,” said KLM CEO, Pieter Elbers.
“Having extended our destinations on the North American continent this year to Salt Lake City and Miami, and to Colombo (Sri Lanka) and Astana (Kazakhstan), we have now added another KLM destination in Africa. We operate 55 flights a week to destinations in Africa,” said Elbers.