Dearth of direct flights stunts growth of Walvis Bay airfreight market

Special projects will up air
cargo volumes in Namibia and
regionally this year, a key local
air freight forwarder believes.
“Overall, airfreight volumes
have decreased slightly. Road
transport on the other hand
has increased marginally. This
trend fluctuates depending
on industry needs. If a largescale
telecommunications
project is undertaken by the
industry, airfreight volumes
of equipment and other cargo
increase dramatically. It really
depends on industry and
business needs. If international
flights are increased and more
routes adopted, airfreight
will play a major role in
supply chains and transit
cargo via Namibia to other
SADC landlocked countries,”
said Nolito Marques,
communications coordinator
of Manica group Namibia,
the holding company of the
freight logistics management
company, Woker Freight
Services (WFS). The company
provides in-transit clearances
to Zambia, Angola, Botswana,
Zimbabwe and the DRC.
WFS airfreights
such imports as
telecommunications, mining
equipment, food and vehicles,
and its role in bringing in
ships’ spares is critical to
Walvis Bay’s vessel repair
industry. Namibia’s important
fishing industry would be
better served by expanded air
routes to its customers.
“Some fishing companies
use air freight to export fish to
Europe. However, the lack of
more direct flights to export
destinations such as Spain
has created a dependency on
sea freight,” said Marques.
The firm is headquartered
at Namibia’s main port,
Walvis Bay, and has offices
in Windhoek, Luderitz and
Oshikango.
“Airfreight volumes through
Windhoek are relatively low
due to the fact that there are
only two airlines that offer
international flights (both from
Germany),” Marques said.
Cargo destined for other
continents must be routed
via Johannesburg, which
in practice means cargo is
trucked to Johannesburg
and then flown out to its
destination. In addition to
breakbulk and bulk shipments,
Woker handles up to 800
containers a month.
“Air Namibia through
its agency network offers
services to other countries
like Angola, Botswana and
South Africa, but cargo from
Italy, for instance, is booked
via Frankfurt to Johannesburg
and then on to those SADC
countries,” the freight
forwarder reported.
Local shippers are for the
time being big users of road
freight, with the air option
yet to be explored by many.
“There has been a tendency by
local companies to order their
products via South African
companies. Such imports
are often imported via road
freight,” said Marques.
Walvis Bay is currently
upgrading its runway,
airport facilities and landing
equipment to accommodate the
A380 airbus. It is hoped that
the expansion to allow for the
largest plane in the world, will
generate more air cargo traffic
with direct flights for Walvis
Bay to Europe, Americas and
Far East.