Airport terminal to remain awkward for now
By Desie Heita

Waiting for a flight connection or transfers will remain an uncomfortable experience for passengers travelling through Hosea Kutako International Airport. For the time being the Namibia Airport Company says the airport is offering acceptable conditions for regional routes transfers. In spite of an obvious increase of 35% in passenger traffic and demand for better services at the Hosea Kutako (HK) International Airport, the Namibia Airport Company says it has no intentions to upgrade the airport from being a getaway airport without the ability to offer comforts to passengers. Gateway airports are end-destination airfields meant only for receiving and sending-off passengers from the country. Namibia Airport Company (NAC) says it is comfortable with the current conditions at the HK airport as it “offers acceptable conditions for regional route transfers.”

Passenger traffic at HK airport increased from 379,327 passengers in 2000 to 513,088 passengers in 2004. The increase was boosted by the increases in route networks, thanks to Air Namibia's direct flights to Frankfurt and London, which made it relatively cheaper and shorter than flying from Oliver R. Tambo Airport in South Africa. Now the HK airport handles weekly non-stop flights to Gatwick, London, Frankfurt Germany, Johannesburg and Cape Town, Luanda Angola, Maun Botswana and Victoria Falls Zimbabwe. NAC's chief business analyst Toska Sem says that the airport “was not configured to handle any transfer passengers as the airport served the South African market only.”

She says while these routes do represent “a remote conceptualisation of a regional hub, they do not yet compares to Oliver R Tambo airport, which is an international hub, and the regional hub of Cape Town International Airport. To handle the traffic, the NAC is currently upgrading the arrival terminal at the airport at the cost of N$5-million. An addition of 1050 square metres is being added on, to create a space of 9550 square metres. NAC says the airport's current capacity is at 750,000 passengers. “[We] intend to grow the capacity to about 1 million passengers per annum with the addition of 1050 square metres,” she says. This upgrade is set to improve the entrance to the arrival hall in the public area. This will also see the creation of 11 commercial units that would add value to the retail mix at the airport. The project is due for completion by the end of this month. The current terminal building capacity presents the challenge of congestions during peaks associated with the scheduling of the wide bodied long haul flights, usually bound for and from Europe.

To cater for the traffic increase the NAC is also looking at the development of the cargo facility through a concession in terms of the airport master plan. “With the growth in the airport infrastructure follows the upgrading of the electricity and water supply to the airport as per requirement,” says Sem. This is the second phase of the upgrading of the HK airport. The first phase was the extension of the departure terminal which commenced in January this year, which entailed the construction of additional retail space and an enhanced departure hall. It was completed in August 2006. She says with the actual and anticipated growth of the airport, the types of aircraft flying to the airport must be matched by the fire fighting facilities and equipment at the airport. “To that extent additional fire trucks were acquired earlier this year.” Sem says the current infrastructure development at HK airport represents a step in the right direction congruent with the existing demand for an ideal and preferred airport with unique attributes.