12 Jul 2024
What interconnects the Namibian freedom activist Hosea Kutako and the former mayors of Atlanta, William B. Hartsfield and Maynard Jackson? They are brothers. As of this week. Through an agreement that makes Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) near Windhoek and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (HJAIA) sister airports.
The agreement was signed on Tuesday by HJAIA and the Namibia Airports Company (NAC), reports the American Journal of Transportation. The partners want to improve mutual economic, tourist and cultural relations. The aim is to increase passenger and cargo traffic between the two airports. HKIA will also benefit from the transfer of expertise.
To date, two airlines fly to both Atlanta and Windhoek: Ethiopean Airlines and Lufthansa, the latter in co-operation with its subsidiary Discover Airlines. Around 4 per cent of foreign holidaymakers in Namibia come from the USA. For HJAIA it is the tenth sister airport agreement and the third on the African continent, after Liberia (2017) and Nigeria (2013).
In terms of passenger volume, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has been the busiest airport in the world since 1998. Last year, it handled more than 104.6 million passengers. Hosea Kutako International Airport near Windhoek registered 1.16 million passengers in the pre-corona financial year 2019/2020. The figures for last year are not yet available, but it is estimated that they will almost reach this level again.
Sven-Eric Stender
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