AIR Namibia has had to apologise to domestic flight passengers who were stranded for two days because of aircraft shortage.
Those affected were flying to Oranjemund, Katima Mulilo, Rundu and Ondangwa on Sunday and yesterday.
The airline operates an Embraer Jet that carries 37 passengers.
Air Namibia’s spokesperson Paul Nakawa yesterday said they had to cancel flights to Oranjemund, Katima Mulilo and Rundu because of aircraft shortage.
Nakawa also said they only cancelled morning flights for Ondangwa but were back in the skies in the evening.
“Our engineers had to attend to one of our aircraft which was not fit to take off,” Nakawa explained, adding that they regret subjecting passengers to delays.
He also said on Sunday evening, the Eros-Ondangwa flight was cancelled because of strong winds.
“This is an act of God. The air traffic controllers advised that we should not take off because the wind is very strong. Affected
passengers were all informed and accommodated at the Safari Hotel for the night,” he said.
Although some passengers said they were not informed of the delays, Nakawa said they informed them and dealt with the matter to the best of their ability since passengers’ safety is the airline’s number one priority.
He further said such unforeseen delays and cancellations are normal when circumstances dictate in the aviation industry although at Air Namibia they do their best to minimise such delays.Nakawa apologised to the affected passengers who couldn’t get seats yesterday morning.
“We will take care of them as we will operate ad hoc flights on routes where we observe spillovers,” he said, adding that the schedule was expected to return to normal by the end of yesterday. Some passengers had a different story to tell though about the delays.
“We had meetings to attend today and work to be done. Now, everything has to be put on hold and rescheduled,” said one passenger who asked not to be named.
Helga Frenzel is accompanying family members from Germany who are touring Namibia. They were scheduled to leave for Rundu on Sunday, and from there drive along the banks of the Kavango River to a lodge where they made bookings.
Frenzel said the situation was frustrating because they had been waiting and wasting time since Sunday.
The problem, she said, was lack of communication from Air Namibia’s side, and their unsatisfactory customer service.
“They did not even offer a single bottle of water as we waited here. We booked a lodge for four days, counting from Sunday. Today is the second day. We are still stranded here,” she said.
Another passenger who also refused to be named said when they got to the airport yesterday, they were checked in on a first-come, first-served basis without any consideration about those who were supposed to fly on Sunday.
“There is no respect for us,” the passenger said.
