Independent Namibian airline FlyNamibia has announced that it is to institute a new route on April 4 next year. This will connect the country’s capital, Windhoek, to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

Because FlyNamibia is a franchisee of South African regional airline Airlink, this new route will open the way to travellers being able to book flights to multiple destinations in Southern Africa on a single ticket, covering both carriers. The example given was Cape Town to Windhoek (and so central Namibia) to Victoria Falls and then to the Kruger National Park.

“By connecting Windhoek and Victoria Falls, under this agreement [with Airlink], FlyNamibia is creating new opportunities for tourists and business travellers,” highlighted airline MD André Compion. “With this route, FlyNamibia will stimulate tourism while fostering trade, commerce and broader economic activity between Namibia and Zimbabwe.”

The partnership between the two airlines was established in September last year and Airlink also took a minority shareholding in FlyNamibia. The new route will be flown under the Airlink flight code prefix of 4Z-.

“Our partnership strategy with FlyNamibia is to maximise the opportunity to establish Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako International Airport as a gateway to other regional destinations,” explained Airlink CEO and MD Rodger Foster. “The new Windhoek-Victoria Falls route is the first manifestation of this, and we expect to announce more in the coming weeks and months. It will benefit our customers by making it more convenient to travel between the region’s main attractions. It also creates opportunities for our partners in the travel and tourism sector to offer new itineraries.”

The route will be operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The flights from Windhoek to Victoria Falls will be coded 4Z 8135 and depart at 10h15, arriving at their destination at 11h45. The return flights will be coded 4Z 8136 and leave Victoria Falls at 12h45 and arrive in Windhoek at 14h15. FlyNamibia will operate the flights with its 50-seat Embraer ERJ145 regional jets.