AIR NAMIBIA received praise from a local Tour Operator and her 70 stranded Italian guests, following the airline`s handling of their five day flight delay in Windhoek last week. The airline had to deal with around 1700 stranded passengers in Namibia and South Africa, after the global ban on flights in Europe because of the volcanic ash polluting the skies across Europe.

They were extremely helpful and friendly,” Simone von Lüttwitz, Terra Nova Branch Manager said yesterday, describing the service delivery she received from Air Namibia staff during the delay that kept her group grounded in Namibia.
She says that Air Namibia`s ground staff made it easy for her to keep the 70 Italians, in Namibia on a five-day incentive tour, up to date and happy.
She heaped praise on an Air Namibia employee, based in Germany, who warned her of the predicament via sms while she was still touring with her guests in the south of Namibia.

My Air Namibia contact in Germany already told me on Saturday (a day before the group was scheduled to depart) that there were problems and that the flight would be cancelled.”
The group continued their journey to Windhoek the next day, and von Lüttwitz arranged accommodation for them at the Country Club Hotel.
During their six-day wait in Windhoek, von Lüttwitz explained that her guests did  pressure on her to supply them with updates on the situation, and due to the help of Air Namibia call centre staff, she could always deliver.

The call centre always gave good information and were really friendly,” she said.
She also visited Air Namibia`s offices directly, and said that staff tried their best to assist her and to look at possible alternative arrangements to fly her guests out of the country. Although the group of Italian`s managed to catch a flight out of Windhoek on Friday Saturday morning, the five day delay was alleviated by the excellent efforts on the part of Air Namibia staff to assist where they could, von Lüttwitz said yesterday.

They always took time to listen to us and to help us. And they made that extra effort that I really appreciated,” she added.
The 70 Italians formed part of a Volkswagen incentive, awarded to them by the automaker, for their sales achievements.

Flights to South Africa and onwards to Europe were cancelled due to the dangers of volcanic ash in the atmosphere in Europe. The flight ban was lifted again on Thursday last week, and airliner`s faced ongoing challenges as they dealt with a extra-ordinary backlog of stranded passengers.

Credit: www.namibian.com.na