THE Namibian Airports Company is about to call for national bidding process to appoint a new ground handling service provider at the Hosea Kutako Internationl Airport after it cancelled the contract with Air Namibia.
Chief Executive Officer Bisey Uirab in a letter informed the national airline that it needs to settle its account with the NAC before the exit date that was set for 1 November this year. In the letter dated 22 May, Uirab stated that Air Namibia has six months from 1 June 2019 to vacate and cease operations as a ground handler at the airport after the agreement between the two stationed enterprises –expired at the end of October last year.
Uirab stated in the letter that the NAC observed non-compliance with regard to payment of the consideration fee as per the agreement and as such, the airline’s account has constantly reflected arrears over the years.
“The NAC will call for a national bidding process for ground handling services in due course. You are more than welcome to participate in the competitive bidding process to be advertised in local print media,” Uirab said in the letter.
The decision not to renew the contract besides the money outstanding to the NAC also entails Air Namibia’s failure to comply with certain clauses in the ground handling agreement with the NAC despite several demands for performance in this regard. The letter did not state what the specific clauses in the agreement entailed.
Meanwhile, the national airline has also suspended all flights between Windhoek and Luanda and several daily flights to Johannesburg and Cape Town after three of its Airbus A319 aircrafts were seized in South Africa and Cyprus due to unpaid accounts for maintenance work done on its rented aircraft.
The national airline currently has only one of the Airbus A319 aircraft servicing all the flights between South Africa and Namibia causing delays.
