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The Country Manager of Namibia Airlines (Air Namibia), Peter Addai, has talked of regrets in the aviation industry at the absence of a national carrier for Ghana, which has become a source of worry to other players. Besides that, operators in the aviation industry are also concerned about the loss of benefits to the country from the growth in the sector. In an exclusive interview with the B&FT, the Air Namibia boss said the demise of GhanaAir, the erstwhile national airline, has meant that Ghana has lost out on the promotion of trade, tourism and development. �A national carrier is very relevant to the socio-economic development of this nation. Airlines promote trade and tourism, and so if the projections that the aviation industry is growing -- and as a nation we don�t have a national airline to take our share of the market then obviously, the nation is losing,� he said. Last year, Ghana�s aviation market grew by 15 percent and the same growth-rate figure is expected for the industry this year. However, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority estimates that growth of the industry will slow down to about seven percent in the next three years. Mr. Addai, who oversees the operations of the 65-year old Namibia�s national carrier in the country, said Ghana could draw experiences from other countries which own national carriers but have managed them effectively to the benefit of their countries. Since its inception, Air Namibia has contributed positively to the national economy by carrying passengers whose gross value contribution to Namibia surpasses the cost of government support to the airline. Air Nambia�s contribution to its country�s GDP comes in the form of visitor expenditure and the airline�s own expenditure in the Namibian economy through procurement of goods and services, as well as related jobs created in resorts and general supporting industries. The Namibian Tourism sector, in which Air Namibia is a key and major player, is the country�s third-largest contributor to GDP. Mr. Addai said: �There are other carriers and they are in business. They are getting their share of the market. A national carrier can contribute positively to trade and tourism development...So for me, it is very important to have a national airline.� Ghana, which once owned a national airline, had to put it into liquidation because of economic losses from the operations of the airline allegedly caused by the numerous reported incidences of mismanagement and misappropriation of funds. Mr. Addai said it is about time government took the necessary steps to resuscitate the national airline, funded through public-private partnership. �We can look at the overall ownership structure. It need not necessarily be wholly-government owned. It could be a private-government partnership. The most important thing is that the company must be managed effectively to bring dividends to the nation,� he added.