Air Namibia owes NCAA, NAC N$800m

• By  kaipaherue kandjii

THE Namibia Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Namibia Airports Company (NAC) are working tirelessly to reclaim a long-overdue debt owed by the defunct national carrier, Air Namibia.

The debt, estimated at N$800 million, was accumulated over the years through aircraft parking fees, passenger fees, and rent and has been judged irrecoverable by the NAC.

As a result of the fragile status quo, NAC CEO, Bisey Uirab told Confidente they have opted to wipe off the debt from their books.

Uirab revealed that NAC owes over N$700 million.

“We are all aware that Air Namibia is in liquidation, and we are aware that we will not receive the full amount from the liquidation process, but we are hoping to receive something,” Uirab added.

He said the debt, which had been unserviced for a long time before his appointment at the NAC years ago, had since matured with interest – but he did not divulge the entire amount.

“Obviously, with interest, it has increased because it has been accumulating for a number of years. I’ve been here for four years, and it was already in the hundreds of millions,” he said.

Meanwhile, Confidente has also learnt that NCAA is impatiently expecting a payment of around N$95 million owed by the airline, which has constantly made headlines for all the wrong reasons, causing President Hage Geingob to decree its closure.

However, unlike the NAC, NCAA says they have not received any money and have filed a claim with Air Namibia’s liquidators.

NCAA Finance Manager Maria Haipinge revealed Air Namibia owes them N$69.2 million in air navigation services and an extra N$25.8 million in passenger safety fees.

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