History was made on Friday, 4 October 2019, when FlyWestair’s Embraer landed at Cape Town International from Eros Airport in Windhoek on the first international scheduled flight ever by a privately owned Namibian aviation company.
On June 24 this year Westair Aviation, was granted Designated Carrier status by the Namibian Transport Commission which makes Westair an official scheduled passenger airline, with flights to various destinations within the country and the sub-region, under the brand FlyWestair.
The Cape Town schedules which started, today, on 7 October 2019, departs from Eros Airport in Windhoek twice daily on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and once on Sundays with a stopover in Oranjemund.
Westair Aviation started out as an aircraft maintenance facility 52 years ago in 1967 but has since grown to become one of the most advanced aviation establishments in Namibia with a fleet of more than 30 aircraft and 70 pilots, able to conduct any aviation-related mission across Africa.
100% Namibian owned, Westair Aviation has earned the highest accolades in the industry servicing clients across all spheres of the economy including multinational mining companies, airlines, tourism destinations, governments, humanitarian organisations, cargo and logistics suppliers, ambulance service providers, tour operators, geophysical surveying companies, aerial mapping companies and a wide range of corporate VIP travellers.
Although scheduled flights to mining destinations were conducted by Westair Aviation for clients in the mining industry before, the decision to launch an official scheduled passenger airline for the public was fueled by opportunities in the market. Wolfgang Grellmann, Chairman of Westair group announced the new development stating that: “The launch of FlyWestair is a natural evolution for Westair Aviation as a well established, fully integrated aviation services provider. We are on a continuous quest to improve the standard of aviation in Namibia.
“We have the capability, we have proven to be a safe and reliable air carrier, we have the Embraer 145’s which is a comfortable, regional jet with fifty seat capacity, we have skilled personnel and resources, so for Westair, it was a natural progression going into scheduled services. We have a fully equipped aircraft maintenance facility at Eros Airport that has the ability to do heavy maintenance and line maintenance on regional jet aircraft. Through our subsidiary Signa Aviation Services, we have also created the capacity to train pilots locally for our airline operations.
Grellmann also allude to the fact that Westair is a Flight Safety Foundation, BARS (Basic Aviation Risks Standard) approved service provider – a safety standard that was developed by the Flight Safety Foundation to create the benchmark for air operators. It’s specifically aligned for the needs of blue-chip organisations such as mining companies, oil and gas companies, big government agencies, and practically all travellers concerned with the status and safety of an air carrier.
Currently, Westair Aviation holds BARS “Gold” status, which means that the company has held this accreditation for longer than three consecutive years. This is one of the highest safety accreditations in the industry.
Whilst specialised aviation services will remain the primary focus of Westair Aviation’s business, the FlyWestair development will officially establish a second scheduled service operator in the country.
“FlyWestair’s entrance to the market will serve the local economy and support Air Namibia in developing the sector to make Namibia more competitive in a competitive industry dominated by foreign operators”.
Flight Schedule: Eros Airport – Oranjemund – Cape Town(return): Twice a day every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and once a day on Sundays.
Flights can be booked through all major travel agencies, through the Westair reservations office on [email protected].
Online bookings: www.flywestair.com
Customer booking number +264 83 937 8247
