Clive Thabo Dube
In 2018, the Government of Zimbabwe, GoZ, launched the ‘open skys policy’ which to enable new airlines to ply routes into the country.
The Harare -Victoria Falls- Bulawayo flight routes was taken over by Fastjet when it became evident that the local flag carrier, Air Zimbabwe, was failing to carry the flag.
The state owned airline Air Zimbabwe operational legacy is in shambles due to its outstanding debt, amounting more than US$300 million to domestic and foreign creditors. The national airline at the moment operates with 1ageing aircraft which date back to the 1980s. With the government interference and the ageing aircraft , the airline received a ban to fly international routes and now struggles to operate domestically and regionally.
Domestically the airline has failed to sustain the airspace and this is causing significant decline of the country’s economy, especially in the Tourism sector which is the pillar of strength for any African country’s economic survival.
Bulawayo as the hub of tourism, arts, heritage and culture and the City is supposed to draw a lot of air traffic and for that reason, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority( ZTA) in partnership with Airports Company of Zimbabwe (ACZ) has engaged with various players to come rescue the Zimbabwean airspace through the ‘Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo’.
The Public Relations and Communications manager of ACZ Tonderai Mangombe said,
“We are business driven, no one will go to any country to see an airport. Our major market is tourism…For us to survive as a company we need tourism.”
During a press conference held in the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair grounds- Bulawayo (ZITF) at the launch of Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo the ZTA chief executive Officer Winnie Muchanyuka stated that
“ZTA and ACZ work very closely in ensuring that we (ZTA) have access to all the destinations as much as possible…On the 16th of October (Sunday)” we will have a delegation sent to the United States Of America- Las Vegas for the ‘Routes World’ conference to engage with international airlines to consider flying into Zimbabwe.”
World Routes is a platform where global airlines meet to discuss various opportunities.
“Zimbabwean skies opened since the beginning of Covid-19 (2019) for both local and international players. Localy we have Khuva Air, Mack Air from Botswana, Qatar Airways and EuroWings (from Germany).” said Mangombe
“Tomorrow (12 October) Ethiopian Airlines will be starting its Addis Ababa- Bulawayo route via Victoria Falls, four times a week…This is a good sign to show that our skies are opening,” he added.
The Haile Selassie founded airline is the largest airline in Africa and the 4th in the world. Despite it being state owned, the carrier runs smoothly without any government interference.