Eurowings on Windhoek-Frankfurt route

GERMAN airline Eurowings yesterday launched its first Windhoek-Frankfurt flight.

The airline will be flying this route three times a week all-year-round, posing possible competition to Air Namibia.

The airline, a subsidiary of the German-based Lufthansa Group of Companies, yesterday had its first direct flight to Windhoek, and landed at Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) with close to 300 tourists on board.

Eurowings had first flown the Cologne/Bonn-Windhoek route and the Windhoek-Munich route before introducing this one.

It signed an agreement with Air Namibia back in 2013 for an exchange of passengers from Namibia who want to access other European countries, like the United Kingdom.

Speaking at the launch yesterday, HKIA airports manager Leonard Shipuata said the route will serve as another important bridge to link Namibia and Germany.

“The decision to start this direct flight has reflected its deep understanding of the potential in the ever-growing ties between our two countries. […] It goes without saying that Namibia and Germany share a very rich history that will strengthen our economic ties,” he added.

Shipuata further described the move as one that increased opportunities for Namibia to intensify efforts to attract more tourists from Europe.

He also addressed the issue of increased passengers, and how they are trying to solve congestion at the airport through the ongoing extension project.

“It is our sincere wish and hope that a project of this magnitude be completed by the end of September 2020,” he said.

The German embassy’s deputy head of mission Ellen Gölz said they are delighted that the Eurowings airline is back in Namibia with direct connections to Germany.

“The decision by Lufthansa to again directly service Namibia from its main hub in Frankfurt is a sign that relations between people in Germany and Namibia continue to grow in many ways,” she observed.

From her personal experience, Gölz said most Germans want to travel to Namibia, and that this would grow Namibia’s tourism sector.

“People from Germany and other European countries will surely seize this opportunity. This can contribute to increased investment and job creation in Namibia,” she noted, adding that the demand for more flight connections between the two countries is increasing.

“The latest figures provided by the Namibia Tourism Board speak a clear language. In 2017, with more than 123 000 people, German tourists were by far the largest overseas group of foreign tourists. Within two years, the numbers increased by more than 7%,” she said.

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