Namibia considering options for struggling national flag carrier -finance minister

The Namibian government is weighing several options regarding the future of struggling national carrier Air Namibia, new Finance Minister Iipumbu Shiimi told parliament on Thursday. Shiimi said it was important to have a national airline but said state-owned Air Namibia’s current model, including its new business plan, is neither sustainable nor affordable. He said the airline, which operates two Airbus A330-200 planes, four Airbus A319-100 aircraft and four Embraer ERJ 135 jets, has over 5b Namibian dollars ($295m) in debt, including leaseholds. More than 7b Namibian dollars is needed in the current financial year alone for the new business plan to be implemented, Shiimi said, without giving details of the new plan.<br/>