Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Direct Flight to Windhoek from US?

Does anyone offer a flight direct from the states to Windhoek yet? I think its long overdue.

Nope - sorry.

Nope - sorry.

Best you can do is via Jberg, Amsterdam, Frankfurt or Addis Ababa.

so which of those is best for someone travelling with rifles?

Not sure of what the best is. It's all trade-offs.

Delta/KLM via Amsterdam is not bad but, depending on the US departure city, you may have a long (12-hr) layover going in. Not as bas as that sounds as you can get a room in the transit hotel inside the secure area of the terminal. The terminal has significant shopping areas and lots of restaurants to kill time too. If you have a shorter layover either way, the same terminal hotel offers just shower booths that are a god send on the way back. Upside is your checked bags/rifles are checked all the way thru and you don't have to screw with them. Downside is you MUST get a transit permit for your rifles and ammo and you MUST apply for that 8 weeks prior to your initial transit but it covers both ways. The form is a bit long (English) is is simple enough. JUST THE 8 WEEKS BEFORE is important.

Frankfurt - most US flights land in the mornings and you'll have a long day layover. Same deal, get a day room in a hotel out of the terminal complex. The flt to Windhoek leaves later in the evening and arrives in Windhoek early enough that your PH can pick you up and usually make to to your hunting destination that same day. No transit permit for Frankfurt required. The airline from Frankfurt to Windhoek is EuroWings. They are SUPPOSED to be a code share subsidiary of Lufthansa but sometimes there have been some hiccups with seating assignments. Could have been just working the bugs out last year. You may or may not be required to claim/recheck bags/rifles between connections here. Sometimes we did, sometimes we didn't. The terminal also offers shower booths in one of the concourses.

Addis Ababa - I've not yet personally done this route but have seriously considered it. One guy I know did this route just after Namibia opened in Sept 2020 and he said the flights were fine, but a VERY short (90 min) connection going in or coming back - I don't remember which. The airline just requires you pre-notify them you're traveling with firearms (email) with copies of your ticket, passport and 4457. They do a serial number confirmation of your weapons at the gate and you don't board until that is done. That is what makes the 90-min connection a bit stressful. Down side is I think they are still only doing 3-days a week and not daily.

Jberg - Depending on what airline you fly, you might have to spend the night in Jberg. That means you'll need to claim your bags and rifles and to the temp firearm transit permit (SAPS 520) etc and then re-check it all and back thru the SAPS office with the rifles cases. If you fly Delta, Delta does NOT code share/baggage handling with any airline there so you'll have to do the SAPS 520 stuff even IF you can get a same day connection out. Not likely as I think the Delta flight still lands late in the afternoon. Right now, they only connection flight from Jberg to Windhoek that shows up on the web searches and in the central reservation system called AMODAUS is SA Airlink. IF you can get a contiguous ticket on Qatar or Lufthansa/Eurowings with SA Airlink connection, everything SHOULD be checked thru and not have to claim/re-check. HOWEVER, there seems to be a chronic history of bags/rifles not making connections when transiting Jberg. Personally, when I transit Jberg on the way over, I always try to claim my bags/rifles and spend the night. That way I KNOW I've got my stuff and more than likely will make the flight with me/us the next morning. YOU CAN NOT LEAVE CHECKED LUGGAGE OR RIFLES IN JBERG FOR MORE THAN 6 HRS. This is something new they put in a couple of years ago for "security" reasons. Was actually to try and cut down on theft.

There is one more possible route and that is thru London. It's a definite no go with firearms as you have to transit between Heathrow and Gatwick. Can't do that with firearms unless you hire a currier at $600 US each way.

Edited to add: My personal "rule of thumb" is if at all possible I NEVER have less than a 4hr layover at international airports or when changing airlines. Yes, I may spend a few hours sitting at a gate or having a drink or snack but, I would much rather do that than be stressed the hell out running between gates due to flt departure delay or whatever and make the flight but none of my stuff does or miss the flight entirely. You have to remember that traveling with firearms/ammo caused extra receipting/signatures/handling requirements by everyone who puts their hands on the case once you surrender it to the airlines. This takes extra time to transfer between flts.

Ingwe, You could drive to Calgary and fly KLM through Amsterdam to Joburg. Travel time is about 22.5 hours including the 2.5 hr layover in Amsterdam. The permit system for the Netherlands is easy.

I don't think there will be a direct flight to Windhoek for a long time as there just isn't the volume of travellers to warrant it. Also the collapse of Air Namibia and South African Airways has done away with the most likely airlines to provide a direct flight.

Then there is Covid. I flew from Calgary to Las Vegas for the SCI Convention. Both Westjet and Air Canada flights were well below full. Closer to 50% capacity. Air travel has still not recovered from the pandemic.

Thanks for the info guys...I was afraid of that. If you have a connecting flight pretty quickly in Joburg to Namibia do you have to go through the whole SAPS mess?

Depends on the carrier - if Delta, yes you will have to claim and do the SAPS dance BOTH WAYS because Delta doesn't code share/baggage agreement with SA Airlink. If you use Qatar Air they do code share and so does Lufthansa, and Swiss.

You can double check this yourself, Just do to the various airline websites and try to book ticket from point A to Windhoek (WDH). If they show flights, it will be SA Airlink to WDH. If not, like Delta, is shows nothing available.

IF you have to do the SAPS dance make sure you have at LEAST four hours between flights, why? Because you have to clear ZA Immigration, wait at the baggage carousel for you bag(s), go to the SAPS office and wait and clear your rifles. Then you go the the connecting carrier's check-in counter, wait in line, check-in then drag your rifles BACK to the SAPS office, wait in line to check them back out. Then you get to go back thru security screening again and then back thru Immigration/passport control.

Edited to add: Very important, even IF you use a travel agent and they are able to sting together a Delta flight connecting with SA Airlink on the same ticket - don't bet on your stuff making the transfer in Jberg. Same coming back. The SA Airlink agent MIGHT try to tag your bag/rifles all the way back with Delta but again, don't be surprised if they don't make the connection.

Might check Qatar. I don't think they fly every day, maybe three times a week???

You'll have to go through Doha, but anything is better than Joburg.

M3Taco; thanks for all the information.

EuroWings will hopefully sort their stuff out they certainly had a few issues when I flew with them in September.

I don’t mind the long layovers as it gives one time to solve problems, or walk for hours so you’re exhausted and can sleep most of the flight away 😃

Qatar Air used to fly daily to Windhoek and Gaborone (Bots). They just did a "technical stop" in Jberg for fuel and pax on off. About 60-90 on the ground and you stayed on the plane. Covid killed that, at least for now.

It's all pretty easy to check/confirm any of this. Just go to the carriers direct web site and try to book a ticket from the carrier's main hub to Windhoek (WDH). Even try to play with the dates. IF you get a flight, be sure to see who the carrier for the leg to WDH. It's most likely to be Euro Wings from Frankfurt direct to WDH or something into Joberg (JNB) with the final leg on SA Airlink to WDH.

Here is another odd thing about all this. When airlines do "code shares" between carriers, not all flights are linked in the Amadeus airline reservation system. What that means is even though two airlines MIGHT have a code share/baggage agreement between themselves, it COULD be limited to only certain flights and flight combinations. The proof of this is last Aug trip back from Bots when Air Bots cancelled our flt to JNB and didn't tell anyone. I'm on the phone with Qatar Air in the Air Bots flight directors office trying to get us connections to still make our JNB to Doha flt. I'm seeing the Air Bots direct flight schedule on their computer screen with flight numbers and departure/arrival times and the Qatar Air rep did not see them on their screen. It's a complicated and complex inter connected system/process.

Be careful if you try to book via 3rd party on-line discount sites. They may somehow string together airlines and connections that don't always appear if you try to find the same routes directly with the primary/major carrier. Secondly, sometimes the 3rd party discount broker sights will put you on flights with carriers that don't allow firearms.

Personally, when I book trips, I try 3rd party on-line discount brokers, a travel agent I've used for several years and also directly with the airline. Takes some time and some gogglefoo but......

Unfortunately, there are way more questions than answers when it comes to airlines and international travel right now. Airlines are notorious for cancelling flights, schedules, etc throughout the year. There's absolutely no sure way to know how a guy will get over there, even if you book it now. A non stop to Windhoek, as Ingwe says, would be a very welcome sight.

As an interesting point of consideration. Last Sept I flew QA from ATL to JNB . I had a separate ticket from JNB to. Kasane Botswana on Airlink after a 4 hour layover. I was told in Atlanta that I couldn’t check my bag( no rifle) all the way through to Kasane because I had 2 separate tickets. Had to claim my bag and go to the Airlink desk to recheck it. Fast forward to return flight from Kasane back home. Again, 2 separate tickets. I mentioned to the Kasane check in guy that I was traveling onward on QA to ATL via Doha. He said I could check my bag all the way without having to claim and recheck in JNB! Moral of the story is the right hand rarely knows what the left hand is doing and doesn’t care either.

You just gotta know who you're dealing with as to whether you can believe them or not. Since jdollar thinks anyone who doesn't get the Covid vaccination and all boosters is a freaking idiot (he's on the wrong side of science on that subject), the moral to the story is take anything he says with a grain of salt. There are other, much more reliable sources of information available.

JD brings up another twist in all this. What he states is about two separate tickets and claiming/re-checking is correct. However, like many things, we travelers are somewhat left to the wills of the check-in agents. Not only about checking bags between flights but, also ammo boxes inside checked luggage or transported as a separate piece. So, I always try to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

I usually, print out a copy of each airlines online baggage/firearm/ammo info on their websites and carry with me. USUALLY, if there is a conflict between what the agent tells me and what the written requirements/restrictions are, I show them the printed info and sometimes politely ask for a Supervisor. MOST of the time, they end up following the printed info - BUT NOT ALWAYS. So, you roll with the flow or don't go.

I've had the check-in agent (SAA) in WDH check everything all the way back home thru JNB connecting with Lufthansa. We get to JNB and a Lufthansa agent stops us at the gate before boarding and tells us we have to pay $100 US for a rifle handling fee. I pull out their baggage info but, no dice. So, I pay the fee via CC. Get home, and contest the charges with my CC carrier and include a copy of their online baggage info and get the chargers revoked.

Did the same thing last June with Qatar Air. Their online info states ammo is to be carried in checked luggage and that's how it was going over. Had two separate tickets - one to JNB and second with Air Bots into Gabs. QR check-in agents checked EVERYTHING all the way to Gabs. Coming back the Air Bots agent would only check to JNB and required us to take the ammo out of checked bags. We had to claim bags in JNB and re-check with QR. Not that big a deal, 5hr layover and I had prefilled out SAPS 520's just in case. Have the ammo back in the checked luggage when we check-in with QR. Agent tells me I have to take the ammo out - again. Show her and her Supervisor the QR print out that clearly stated "in separate checked bag". No dice. They claimed it was a RSA and O.R. Tambo requirement, even though it came over in the checked bags. Nope. Charged me $254 US to bring the ammo home. Opened the ammo box, took the ammo boxes out and said told them to just keep the ammo and do whatever you want with it, but if you touch it without a firearm license you go to jail. SAPS escort officer was with us and nodded his head. The agent and supervisor turned their backs, had a quick conference and told me to go ahead and just put it in my checked bag.

Guess this is why "travel is an adventure" and travel in Africa is a safari!!

Bottom line is - yes everything mostly goes smoothly and as planned but, you just need to be planned farther ahead and ready for when things get bumpy. Keep calm, polite and firm and things usually get sorted out.

Everything I wrote is exactly what happened to me. When dealing with African airline employees ( indeed with other nationalities too), you are at their mercy. They may or may not follow any established company protocol. Expect the unexpected. Not sure what Covid vaccination has to do with the topic at hand but I I’m sure your education, whatever it is, exceeds my medical degree so carry on. Trolls will be trolls…..

Your medical degree doesn't mean jackschitttt when you're on the wrong side of the argument. Why don't you just go back and hang out with your lardass, libtard lawyer buds over on Accurate Reloading, the same losers who agree with your position. You can continue to kiss the anti-American muslim's asss while your over there too. You continue to prove that some degreed doctors are still dumbasses.

What does your comment have to do with the topic? I’m just trying to impart some firsthand info. Not sure what you’re trying to do but I’m sure it has nothing to do with flying to Africa. Carry on though, troll. I’m sure it makes you feel superior…..

How de we get from flying to vaccinations?

Anyhow, my flights are booked for the end of the month from ATL-JNB-BUQ. Flying Delta and SA Airlink like I've done countless times.

This ain't rocket surgery unless another spike comes and everyone freaks out.... again.

Because there's a value placed on every poster here, and the contents thereof. It's how we determine who is FOS and who is not, who has an agenda, etc. Everyone does it whether they admit it or not, or even recognize it. Jdollar is wrong about the vax, and was wrong not long ago stating that you must be vaxed to get into Africa, in which M3Taco proved him wrong. Place whatever value you want on misinformation.

Good luck with your flights. I wouldn't bet the farm on Delta delivering the goods, but in your case I sure hope they do. They change policy as often as the wind blows it seems.