Air Namibia (Windhoek International) has filed an urgent appeal to the Zimbabwean Supreme Court to suspend a lower court ruling which gives a local Zimbabwean family power to seize the airline's assets and aircraft as part of a USD1 million lawsuit.

The case relates to a Zimbabwean family that had booked to travel from Zimbabwe to Turkey using Air Namibia and its codeshare partners on a journey routed Harare International-Windhoek International-Frankfurt International-Istanbul Atatürk and return in February 2017.

According to Zimbabwean High Court documents seen by NewsDay, Chenjerai, Fadzai, Rutendo and Tadiwanashe Mawumba, and Juliana Magombedze were detained for two days in Windhoek by Air Namibia officials before being deported back to Zimbabwe. They collectively claimed the airline had unlawfully detained them and thus sought USD1 million in damages which were duly awarded by the court on June 26 this year.

Although the family managed to secure Turkish visas in January last year, Air Namibia said it had received instructions from German immigration officials in Pretoria not to allow them onto the Windhoek-Frankfurt sector of their journey.

“This communication was made in the most racist, arbitrary and extemporary fashion I have ever countenanced,” NewsDay quoted Mawumba as saying.

Mawumba also claimed the family was then illegally detained and harassed at Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport for two days, causing them pain and suffering. They were allegedly not offered any food or accommodation.

However, in its defense, an Air Namibia spokesman, Paul Nakawa, denied the family's allegations stating that the airline acted within the "prescribed standard norms of Airline's and Immigration Authorities to refuse passengers access to an aircraft in circumstances they suspect the passenger does not meet the requisite criteria since a ticket does not guarantee automatic passage."

Nakawa told The Namibian Sun newspaper that the family's High Court order to attach Air Namibia's property, and even aircraft, in Zimbabwe comes after the airline had filed a notice of opposition to the claims and to which the family had not responded for three months.

"After more than three months with the claimants not having filed any answering affidavits, Air Namibia lawyers, on June 22, filed an application to have their case dismissed. The family was served with the papers on June 27. They were supposed to respond within 10 days," Nakawa said.

The spokesman further stated that the High Court order was issued without either of the two parties having been called in. As such, Air Namibia only learned of the order via the press and even then, found that its pleadings had been removed from the court file.

As it stands, the Supreme Court application suspends the High Court order until a verdict has been reached.

"Therefore, Air Namibia continues to transport passengers and cargo to and from Zimbabwe," Nakawa said. "Our operation to Harare International and Victoria Falls is on-going as per our published flight schedule."