WINDHOEK, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's Finance Minister Iipumbu Shiimi on Thursday said government decide to file for voluntary liquidation of the country's national airline, Air Namibia.

Shiimi at a press brief said the difficult decision was taken after careful consideration of the various options to save the national airline which employs around 644 workers.

"All options assessed point to the fact that the national airline is not profitable, and it has not been profitable since its inception," he said, adding that the government had spent about 8 billion Namibia dollars (550 million U.S. dollars) in supporting Air Namibia.

According to the minister, the welfare of the employees remains a priority, and it is for this reason that the government commits to an ex-gratia payment to the value of 12 months' salary for each employee.

"We will continue with consultations with the interim board and the management to work out detailed modalities for winding up the operations of the current Air Namibia and that includes the schedule of payments to the employees and the protection of the assets in the possession of the company and the nation will be informed in this regard," he added.

Meanwhile, the country's national airline, effective Thursday, said all flight operations will be cancelled, with all aircraft returning to base, while the reservation system for taking new bookings has also been suspended. Enditem

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