African carrier Air Namibia has been permitted to continue flight operations despite a ongoing threat by the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) to revoke its Air Operators Certificate (AOC) over concerns over safety and operational procedures following recent inspections. The airline’s annual AOC expired last week but the carrier has reported this has now been renewed.
“The AOC was extended late Monday afternoon, and our business operations continue as normal. I further wish to assure our stakeholders that we are doing everything possible to attend to pending matters with the DCA, which we have agreed to during this extension period, and we commend the DCA for the cordial work relationship between our institutions”, said Rene Gsponer, acting managing director, Air Namibia.
It is currently unclear if this is a full 12 month renewal with some local sources claiming it may only permit Air Namibia to continue operations for a two week period while the DCA completes further inspections. One report claims Air Namibia has been given the two weeks to comply with civil aviation regulations or risk losing its AOC permanently.