Air Namibia (Windhoek International) has been informed by the Namibian government that it will not be receiving any subsidy in July 2017 due to a lack of funds, reports New Era.

"The Ministry of Works and Transport would like to inform Air Namibia that due to a very limited ceiling (fund allocation) for July received from treasury, the ministry is unable to pay for your government subsidy allocation," Works and Transport permanent secretary Willem Goeiemann wrote in a letter to Air Namibia acting manager Mandi Samson. "The ministry therefore advises Air Namibia to kindly make other financial provisions to pay its leases, maintenance and fuel for July 2017."

A spokesman for the airline told New Era that the missing subsidy could "potentially affect the operations of the airline." An anonymous source quoted in The Namibian says that the airline's monthly expenses are approximately NAD300 million (USD23.1 million), with the state providing NAD50 million (USD3.8 million) of that.

At the airline's annual stakeholder conference held in May, Minister of Works and Transport, Alpheus Naruseb said that he wanted to see Air Namibia become self-supporting in the future. The airline has received NAD10 billion in government subsidies since the country became independent in 1990.

The state airline serves seventeen destinations in southern Africa, and one long-haul route to Frankfurt, Germany with a fleet of four A319-100s, two A330-200s and four E135s.