Westair Aviation Limited is a

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

n aviation service provider and airline offering scheduled passenger services under the FlyNamibia brand as well as cargo and

Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, as well as to provide ...

(ACMI) services based at

Eros Airport Eros Airport or Windhoek Eros Airport is an airport serving Windhoek, the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in the Khomas Region, about south of Windhoek's central business district, and has been a secondary hub for Air Na ...

Windhoek Windhoek (; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek, which ...

History

In 1967, Westair Aviation began as an aircraft maintenance facility and has since became a passenger and freight aviation company. The airline has become a provider of ad-hoc as well as air chartered services in Namibia, providing long-term lease and aircraft maintenance services. The airline also operates a variety of scheduled and unscheduled air cargo flights and has been offering a dedicated cargo service to

DHL DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational Import-Export Expert Company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, ...

over the past 20 years. In June 2005, Stimulus Investment Limited, a local Namibian investment company, acquired 29% of the total issued ordinary share of Westair Aviation, with the airline's management retaining 71% of the ordinary shares. Stimulus sold the shares back to Westair management in 2014 and is no longer a shareholder in Westair. In November 2015, Westair Aviation acquired an

Embraer ERJ-145 The Embraer ERJ family (for Embraer Regional Jet) are regional jets designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The family includes the ERJ 135 (37 passengers), ERJ 140 (44 passengers), and ERJ 145 (50 passen ...

from

LOT Polish Airlines LOT Polish Airlines, legally Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (, ''flight''), is the flag carrier of Poland. A founding member of IATA, it is one of the world's oldest airlines. With a fleet of 87 aircraft as of June 2025, LOT is Europe's 16th ...

. Named 'Tatekulu', this twinjet 50-seater was the first addition to the airlines' specialist fleet. As of April 2018, the airline planned to expand its passenger route network to five scheduled destinations and six airports in two different countries in

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

. In June 2019, the airline was granted designated carrier status by the Namibian Transport Commission. Scheduled local flights commenced on June 24, 2019, from its base at

under the newly established brand name ''FlyWestair''. FlyWestair rebranded as ''FlyNamibia'' on 2 November 2021. In September 2019, the airline revealed plans to commence its first international destination by starting flights from Eros Airport to

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. In September 2022,

Airlink Airlink (previously known as South African Airlink) is a regional airline based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Its main business is to provide services between smaller, under-served towns and larger hub airports. It has since expanded to of ...

a South African carrier based in Johannesburg, acquired a 40% equity share in FlyNamibia. The latter plans expansion to Ghana, Malawi, the DRC and Kenya after the demise of the Namibian flag-carrier

Air Namibia Air Namibia (Pty) Limited, which traded as Air Namibia, was the national airline of Namibia, headquartered in the country's capital, Windhoek. It operated scheduled domestic, regional, and international passenger and cargo services, having its in ...

in 2021. A franchise agreement between Airlink and FlyNamibia was announced in August 2023. Starting 28 August 2023, all FlyNamibia Embraer scheduled flights have operated under Airlink's 4Z code. In 2020, Westair has invested in Senegalese Arc en Ciel Airlines. In March 2023, Westair Aviation has created a joint venture with France based Avico Group to take a controlling equity interest in Italian helicopter operator Weststar NDD, renamed later as

Westair Helicopters Westair Helicopters S.r.l. is a European based commercial helicopter operator, specialized in offshore transportation services for Oil & Gas Industry. The airline headquarter is located Via Gabriele D’Annunzio, 4, 21010 Vizzola Ticino (Malpens ...

. This airline is flying 14 helicopters, Leonardo AW189, AW139,

AW169 The AgustaWestland AW169 is a twin-engine, 10-seat, 4.8t helicopter developed and manufactured by the helicopter division of Leonardo S.p.A., Leonardo (formerly AgustaWestland, merged into Finmeccanica since 2016). It was designed to share simil ...

. In September 2023, FlyNamibia has joined the

International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

(IATA).

Routes

, Westair Aviation services the following international routes: , FlyNamibia services the following domestic routes:

Fleet

Westair Aviation's current fleet consist of over 30 aircraft. The aircraft suit relevant operations such as freight-transporting, crew rotations for mining operations and offering VIP charters to The Namibian government. Westair Aviation's fleet comprises

Embraer Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace corporation. It develops and manufactures aircraft and aviation systems, and provides leasing, equipment, and technical support services. Embraer is the third largest producer of civil air ...

Beechcraft Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and Military aircraft, military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacture ...

and

Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufactu ...

aircraft with the

being their largest.westair.com.na - Fleet
retrieved 11 February 2021 FlyNamibia Safari routes are serviced by a

Reims-Cessna F406 Caravan II The Reims-Cessna F406 Caravan II is a turboprop twin engine utility aircraft manufactured and designed by Reims Aviation in cooperation with Cessna. Design and development The F406 Caravan II is a twin turboprop engined, fourteen-seat low-win ...

References

External links

Official website of Westair AviationOfficial website of FlyWestair
{{Airlines of Namibia Airlines of Namibia Windhoek Airlines established in 1967 1967 establishments in South West Africa