Namibia's airport passenger traffic slowed in May 2026, with total passenger movements declining by 2.4% from the previous month, ending the strong recovery seen in April.
Despite the monthly setback, the country's aviation sector continued to show resilience, recording solid year-on-year growth.
According to a report by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), the latest Passenger Movement Composite Index, which measures international, regional and domestic passenger arrivals and departures across all Namibian airports, fell by 2.4% in May after increasing by 12.8% in April.
However, compared to May 2025, the index was up by 5.3%, indicating that demand for air travel remains stronger than a year ago.
In absolute terms, 99 735 passenger movements were recorded across Namibia's airports during May, down from 102 237 in April. The figure nevertheless exceeded the 94 729 passenger movements recorded during the same month last year.
The report said that Hosea Kutako International Airport continued to dominate the country's aviation sector, accounting for 81.9% of all passenger movements during May.
Walvis Bay Airport handled 8.6% of total traffic, while Eros Airport accounted for 5.2%, with the remaining airports contributing the balance.
According to the report, passenger arrivals dropped by 22% during May, following a 5.9% decline in April.
A total of 4 165 arriving passengers were recorded, compared with 5 342 in April. Despite the decline, arrivals remained significantly higher than the 3 427 passengers recorded in May 2025, representing annual growth of 21.5%.
The report said that at Hosea Kutako International Airport, passenger arrivals fell by 2.7% month-on-month after growing by 7.8% in April.
The airport welcomed 40 496 arriving passengers in May, compared with 41 635 in April. Nevertheless, arrivals were 5.2% higher than the 38,481 passengers recorded during the same period in 2025.
Unlike arrivals, departures at Hosea Kutako continued to increase. The departures index increased by 3.6% during May after posting a strong 17.8% increase in April.
According to the report, a total of 41 213 passengers departed through the country's main international gateway during May, up from 39 783 in April. However, departures remained marginally below the 41,658 recorded in May last year, translating into a slight year-on-year decline of 1.1%.
It said that departures through Walvis Bay Airport also weakened, declining by 15.2% month-on-month after a 5.6% decrease in April.
The airport recorded 4 416 departing passengers during May, down from 5 209 the previous month. On an annual basis, however, departures increased by 10.3%, compared with 4 003 passengers recorded a year earlier.
Eros Airport recorded mixed results during the month.
Passenger arrivals continued their upward trajectory, increasing by 8.7% compared with April, down from the 15.7% increase recorded the previous month. The airport handled 2 579 arriving passengers, up from 2 372 in April and 2 168 in May 2025. Annual arrivals were 19% higher than a year earlier.
Departures, however, fell sharply after an exceptionally strong April. The departures index dropped by 34.6%, reversing April's 99.2% surge.
The report said that in absolute terms, 2 640 passengers departed through Eros Airport in May, down from 4 034 in April. Even so, the figure remained above the 2 507 departures recorded in May 2025, reflecting annual growth of 5.3%.
