EDITORIAL: Don’t let sentiment sink Namibia Air before it takes off
As Namibia prepares to launch Namibia Air, the urge to resurrect a national carrier is understandable. A flag on the tail of an aircraft stirs national pride, connects citizens to the world and signals ambition. But sentimentality is not a strategy. If Namibia proceeds without heeding the lessons of Air Namibia’s collapse, the country risks repeating one of its most costly economic failures.
Air Namibia did not fall because Namibians lacked passion for their airline. It folded under the weight of unsustainable debt, chronic mismanagement and political interference. When the carrier went under, liabilities outweighed assets by billions, key institutions were left unpaid, and more than 600 employees suddenly found themselves jobless and fighting for severance.
Government now promises a new chapter. An airline built on merit-based hiring, professional discipline and strict accountability. That ambition is welcome, but it must be rooted in pragmatism, not nostalgia. There is no universal rule that every country must own a national airline. The United States, the world’s largest aviation market, has operated for decades without a state-owned carrier. Its skies are served entirely by private airlines that compete and innovate.
A public-private partnership could give Namibia Air access to the capital, technical skills, operational discipline and commercial savvy that governments rarely master on their own. Shared risk between state and private partners would guard taxpayers against future bailout cycles.
Ethiopian Airlines, the continent’s most successful carrier, thrives because the government supports it while allowing it to operate with commercial independence. The airline invests heavily in technical capacity, including an aviation academy and maintenance facilities. It is run like a business, not a political project.
Namibia Air must not be built because we miss Air Namibia. It must be built because we have learned from it.
Air Namibia did not fall because Namibians lacked passion for their airline. It folded under the weight of unsustainable debt, chronic mismanagement and political interference. When the carrier went under, liabilities outweighed assets by billions, key institutions were left unpaid, and more than 600 employees suddenly found themselves jobless and fighting for severance.
Government now promises a new chapter. An airline built on merit-based hiring, professional discipline and strict accountability. That ambition is welcome, but it must be rooted in pragmatism, not nostalgia. There is no universal rule that every country must own a national airline. The United States, the world’s largest aviation market, has operated for decades without a state-owned carrier. Its skies are served entirely by private airlines that compete and innovate.
A public-private partnership could give Namibia Air access to the capital, technical skills, operational discipline and commercial savvy that governments rarely master on their own. Shared risk between state and private partners would guard taxpayers against future bailout cycles.
Ethiopian Airlines, the continent’s most successful carrier, thrives because the government supports it while allowing it to operate with commercial independence. The airline invests heavily in technical capacity, including an aviation academy and maintenance facilities. It is run like a business, not a political project.
Namibia Air must not be built because we miss Air Namibia. It must be built because we have learned from it.
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