Airport mess continues at Hosea Kutako

Just days after Airbus A330 flights at the Hosea Kutako International Airport could resume following the downgrading of the airport, exemption granted for these flights has been revoked. A review by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) yesterday re-enforced the downgrading of the airport and also revoked any exemptions that might have been granted for flights at the airport. Again Air Namibia has to resort to diverting its Windhoek/Frankfurt flight and it will have to ferry passengers to Lusaka as it cannot land or take off with an Airbus at Hosea Kutako. Leaving both Namibia and the national airline red-faced yet again, Air Namibia has put the blame squarely on the Namibia Airports Company (NAC). When it came to light yesterday that Airbus flights had again been banned, employees at the airport told Namibian Sun that chaos had erupted at the airport and that heads were expected to roll. According to some employees, “big trouble is coming”. Some rumours were that the Minister of Works and Transport and even the President were expected at the airport after yet another embarrassing situation for Namibia and that this time the NAC board would not be let off the hook. The Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) conducted an audit at the airport last week and downgraded it from a Category 9 to a Category 5 because of critical problems with regard to fire-fighting vehicles and equipment. The downgrading Hosea Kutako Airport affected all aircraft requiring category 7 and higher rescue and fire-fighting services. Air Namibia applied to be granted exemption in order to continue its Airbus A330 operations, which was granted on July 24. This exemption was summarily revoked yesterday, however. According to AirNamibia it can no longer operate its A330-200 fleet from Hosea Kutako Airport until the NAC has rectified the shortcomings to the satisfaction of ICAO. “Air Namibia, like other airlines operating into this airport with larger aircraft, will be negatively impacted by this development,” the company said. Air Namibia’s Flight SW 285 from Windhoek to Frankfurt will take off from Lusaka until the problems are rectified at the airport Affected passengers will be flown to Lusaka with two A319-100s. Flight SW 286 from Frankfurt to Windhoek will divert to Lusaka and passengers will be flown to Windhoek using the two A319-100s. According to the company it will continue to operate in this manner for the next two weeks or until such time that the Namibia Airports Company has fulfilled the requirements. “We wish to apologise for the inconvenience caused to all travellers and relevant stakeholders, and once again reiterate that this is as a result of something outside our control and not of our own making.” The NAC yesterday called a press conference, but cancelled it at the last minute. Later a short statement was issued, saying: “We are busy rectifying all operational issues as identified by the ICAO and remain confident of meeting these deadlines. “NAC remains committed to managing and developing safe and secure airports with due consideration to the interest of our stakeholders. “We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this situation but airport safety remains our priority and we are confident we can overcome this unfortunate chapter.” WINDHOEK ELLANIE SMIT